Fox "News" and the like chalked up Joe Biden's press conference whispers on Thursday as "creepy" and "bizarre." Although it was definitely an unusual way for a US president to deliver a press conference, I prefer the Daily Show's alternative description: a feel-good, spine-tingling ASMR trigger.
ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a nonscientific (so far) but rather anecdotal condition where certain sounds, like whispering, paper crumpling, and stirring a drink – or, in my case, hitting a gong – cause some people to feel "head/brain tingles" or "braingasms." And, according to Vox, "Many people describe the feeling as 'tingles' that run through the back of someone's head and spine. Others say the feeling is deeply relaxing, and can even cause them to fall asleep."
However you want to describe it, Biden's comical, whispery Q&A with reporters was certainly captivating, and maybe that, in the end, is what he was going for.
