Did I really hear Joe Biden say that?

On Wednesday, did I hear the president of the United States say Americans need to get F-15s and nukes if we really want to keep the government in line?

I did hear it.

Biden apparently was trying to make fun of us “gun nuts” who say Americans need the protections of the Second Amendment to own firearms in case we have to prevent the government from taking away our liberties.

It was garbled and choppy, because Biden went off the Teleprompter, but he said:

“Those who say the blood of Patriots, you know, and all the stuff about how we’re gonna have to move against the government … if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons.”

Today I’m not sure if I should buy an F-15 or a bomb shelter – or both.

BidenÂ’s address on how his administration intends to combat rising gun violence and soaring crime rates in our biggest cities was another big liberal gift to the gun industry.

It was filled with the usual stupid arguments and unchecked “facts” from the gun-control crowd.

Biden talked about responsible hunters knowing you don’t need to outfit your deer rifle with 100-round clips – clips that don’t exist on this planet.

He talked about how we need to ban AR-15 “assault rifles” (again) to reduce gun violence, even though more Americans are stabbed to death each year than are killed by rifles.

The vast majority of gun homicides – 20,000 last year, the highest in 20 years — are committed in cities with handguns – often stolen ones.

Few of those handguns were sold to the shooters by the rogue dealers whom Biden called “merchants of death” who “are breaking the law for profit.”

The idea that an up-and-coming gangbanger in the Latin Kings of Chicago stops by the corner gun store to pick up a new Glock on his way to kill a rival is a liberal myth that will not die.

Gun-control nuts, Biden and the liberal media still think buying a gun over the counter is as easy as buying a six-pack, but thatÂ’s only because theyÂ’ve never had to buy one.

Here in California, where I live, buying any kind of gun – and ammo – involves a lot of paperwork and a three-day wait for the ATF to do its background check.

My son Cameron and I buy what we need to hunt with all the time at the same gun store.

The owners know exactly who we are, but they aren’t the ones who do the background check each time we buy a box of shotgun shells – it’s the government.

The gun store sends the information in and when weÂ’re approved we go and pick up the shotgun shells. ThatÂ’s how it works in the real world.

ItÂ’s pretty clear that people like Biden who are making these decisions have never hunted and never actually had to go out and buy a pistol for protection.

They don’t have to buy a gun because the people around them – their bodyguards and private security – do it.

At the end of his address Biden said something about giving high school kids a job instead of a gun when they graduate.

That was a great soundbite, I guess, if you think guns are the main cause of crime.

But what Biden should be calling for is for kids in our cities to be given a proper public education instead of the horrible one theyÂ’ve been getting for half a century.

About 75 percent of black and brown kids in grammar school are reported to be unable to read or do math at their grade level, yet now theyÂ’re being taught critical race theory and that the country was founded on racism.

Oops, sorry. IÂ’ve got to stop. The contractor is here to see if I can fix up my garage to fit an F-15.

Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan, is an author, speaker and president of the Reagan Legacy Foundation. Send comments to [email protected] and follow @reaganworld on Twitter.