Tipsheet

Joe Biden Is Now Getting Mixed Up About John McCain

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  March 11, 2024 7:45 PM

Following that "fiery" State of the Union address on Thursday night, President Joe Biden's energy looks to have worn off. He's already back to his bumbling and stumbling self. On Monday, the president spoke about healthcare in New Hampshire, during which he brought up the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in a conversation about "his predecessor."

"Folks, we all miss someone who cast the deciding vote to protect the Affordable Care Act last--not--not long ago--my buddy John McCain--passed away. My predecessor--friend--he--that’s how he ended his career, voting 'no' so we couldn’t--they couldn’t cut it," Biden said, saying "buddy" and "friend" to describe McCain in the same breadth as "my predecessor."

McCain's memorable vote against overturning ObamaCare came in July 2017. That's almost seven years ago now. It wasn't last month or even last year, so perhaps he meant one of the "last" times to overturn the legislation. We can't say for sure, though, with what a jumbled mess Biden's words were. 

Further, it also sounds like Biden is saying that it was "pass[ing] away" that "ended [McCain's] career." The senator indeed died in August 2018 from cancer, which is certainly a way to end one's career, as Nick Arama highlighted in his coverage at our sister site of RedState. 

"John loved New Hampshire, and he still drives my predecessor crazy. You know, John is long gone, but that’s John," Biden then said, which suggests he had his bearings at that point at least to be able to clearly recognize that his predecessor was not McCain. 

Recommended

A Comedian Asked Some College Kids About Hamas and Israel...And It Was a Total Disaster Matt Vespa
Anderson Cooper Stunned by Michael Cohen's Implosion Under Cross Examination Guy Benson

Biden's predecessor would, of course, be Donald Trump, who might also be his successor. Biden did refer to Trump by name just a few paragraphs later in the speech as well. Not only was McCain not Biden's predecessor, but Biden was on the ticket when former President Barack Obama ran against McCain in 2008 and won. 

While the official White House transcript, at least as of several hours after the event occurred, didn't bother clarifying any of the remarks about McCain, they did have to clean up how Biden referred to a "chopping block" as a "chocking blop." As he's done before, Biden claimed Republicans wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare, or, as he put it, put them "back on the chocking blop." Biden and other Democrats made similar claims ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, and have continued to make them, though even CNN has called out such Democrats with fact-checks. 

Biden also stumbled over his words trying to say "do" versus "cut." After such remarks, the president awkwardly shuffled off the stage, very much looking his age.