President Joe Biden's declining ability to deliver remarks in public without making a mess of things continues to be a headache for West Wing aides. Even when Biden isn't accidentally calling for regime change in Russia or incorrectly stating the U.S. policy toward Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion — two instances of Biden gaffes that sent his aides scrambling to explain what their boss *meant* to say — he's still frequently in need of some cleanup.
In what may be the most brutal example yet, the White House was forced to issue a whopping nine corrections to Biden's remarks delivered at a campaign event in Detroit over the weekend.
Wow....this is remarkable. The White House issues 9 corrections to Biden's NAACP speech - including substituting "recession" for "pandemic" . Holy moly...https://t.co/Z3wjlEEDno
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) May 21, 2024
Biden's transcripts are often confounding, but this one published by the White House was extra messy despite the president only speaking for 18 minutes.
Perhaps the most egregious: Biden's claim that he was vice president "during the pandemic," a Cornpop-level whopper:
And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the
pandemic[recession], and what happened was Barack said to me, “Go to Detroit and help fix it.”
It's still a mystery how the president manages to muck up prepared remarks that he has on teleprompters (usually along with a printed copy) before him:
Folks, I’m humbled to receive this
organization[award], which defines the character and consequence of what we do.
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The White House also had to fix Biden's butchering of what, for anyone else, would be common words:
Look, folks, I just came from Atlanta, where I delivered a commencement at Morehouse College. (Applause.) It was truly
inspiresing[inspiring]: over 400 young Black men who will do extraordinary things.
Biden proved no better at numbers, either, somehow inflating $800 into $800,000:
I protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act, saving millions of families $800,000 in prem- —
$8,000[$800] in — a year in premiums.
At least this gaffe rhymed with the correct word Biden was supposed to read:
We’re increasing access to capital to start business and loans to buy homes. We’re cracking down on corporate landlords
who[to] keep rents down.
There was one more case of grammar roulette:
He not only denies reproductive freedom but worsens the mortality rate for Black moms, who
have[are] nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than a white woman.
Plus an unfortunate jumbling of words that led Biden into a Chuck Schumer-level oops (if you know, you know):
Just listen to him. He calls the
irrectionists[insurrectionists] who stormed Capitol Hill “patriots.”
Even when supposedly directly quoting former President Donald Trump, Biden couldn't nail it:
Donald Trump has said, if he loses again in November, there will be, quote,
“bloodshed”[“bloodbath”]. What in God’s name are we talking about here?
Pro-tip for Biden — make sure you get the name of your host correct when addressing them:
His spirit endures. The
NAAC[NAACP] spirit endures.
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