Watch: Biden Has Another 'Where's Jackie?' Moment as He Calls Democrat by Wrong Name 4 Times
One good thing about President Joe Biden’s public statements is how predictable he is when delivering them. Biden can be counted on to make a gaffe in such a way it makes observers question his cognitive abilities.
Many politicians make verbal missteps. It’s an occupational hazard when so much of the job requires public speaking. But Biden’s lapses aren’t just errors. They seem more like symptoms.
On Thursday, the president called a congressman the wrong name four times in one speech.
Speaking in Springfield, Virginia, Biden called out to thank Democratic Rep. Don Beyer. The problem is, Biden asked for “Doug,” not Don.
Biden flubbed the name three times in about 15 seconds.
The president repeated the error later in the speech (around the 7:27 mark), but that time he corrected himself, saying, “Doug knows — Don.”
It was a troubling reminder of one of Biden’s more uncomfortable slipups in front of an audience who knew he was wrong.
On Sept. 28, he was thanking lawmakers present at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health when he said, “Representative Jackie, are you here?”
“Where’s Jackie?” Biden asked. “I think she was going to be here.”
The president apparently was searching for Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana, who was involved with the conference.
The problem was Walorski died in a car accident on Aug. 3.
Biden had even released a statement about it at the time, expressing shock and sending condolences to her family.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later performed her predictable inadequate spin on the incident, saying, “She was of top of mind for the president.”
Having someone in mind is not the same as looking for a deceased colleague in the audience.
Biden met with the Walorski family at the White House two days after the conference and apologized for his gaffe.
Fortunately, the family handled the situation with grace. As reported by the New York Post, the congresswoman’s brother, Keith Walorski, shared what their mother, Martha Walorski, told Biden: “She said, ‘Well, Mr. President, we can tell you where Jackie is. She’s in heaven with Jesus.’”
Ironically, Biden’s misstep with Beyer’s name Thursday came right after a piece of probably scripted self-deprecating humor. It seemed like an attempt at an ice-breaker joke.
“Please, take a seat if you have one. … I said that — when I was seeking the nomination, I said, ‘Take a seat, everybody.’ And there wasn’t a single chair in the place. And they said, ‘That Biden really is stupid. He doesn’t know,'” the president said.
The audience responded with polite laughter. But Biden immediately started asking for “Doug” instead of Don, providing a new unintended punchline to the anecdote.
The congressman’s misnaming occurred after a similar incident earlier in the week. On Tuesday, Biden could not remember the title of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and called him “secretary of the military.”
Joe Biden can’t remember the name of his secretary of defense (again), so he calls him the “secretary of the military” — then almost calls him “Speaker.” pic.twitter.com/lfLJarNHjd
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 25, 2023
Biden’s lapse about Austin occurred during the announcement of a plan to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a very sensitive topic and a dangerous escalation against Russia.
While he is always bungling names and titles, this verbal slip and what it suggests can only embolden our enemies.
It can’t be justified in any way.
A commander in chief who can’t even keep basic information about a top military adviser straight is an embarrassment to the United States.
Even worse than embarrassment, the fact that Biden is self-evidentially not all there is a factor destabilizing the world.
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