(The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of ThinkCivics.com)
President Biden has a history of experiencing difficulties navigating off the stage after speeches, and Monday a little girl had to show him which way to go. The President was speaking at a Toys for Tots event with the United States Marine Corps Reserve in Arlington, Virginia.
After finishing his remarks, Biden looks around, spots the young girl, spins almost 360 degrees, then strokes her shoulder. “Which way do we go?” he asks, grabbing her wrist and then shuffling off toward wife Jill and safety:
BIDEN: “Which way do we go?” pic.twitter.com/KgvpxvsbQz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 12, 2022
Biden had praise for the girl, who is a military child:
“When I was that age, I could hardly say my name in public,” Biden said. “Actually, I used to stutter when I was a little boy, until I was in high school. It was the only thing everybody – anyway – you’re very impressive.”
If this was a one-off, we could give him a pass; he just got a little confused—could’ve happened to anybody. With Joe, though, this has become an all-too-common occurrence. He regularly appears dazed and confused, forgets words, wanders off, or calls people by the wrong name. It wouldn’t be a problem if it was just gramps getting a little bewildered at the ice cream store, but this man is the leader of the free world.
One of his more infamous moves occurred in April when he tried to shake hands with an invisible person. In recent months, the gaffes are piling up like autumn leaves, as he garbles sentences and loses his train of thought at virtually every appearance. My colleague Nick Arama has covered many of these moments; here are just a few from the last few months alone:
- At a White House state dinner honoring France, Joe called the country “Frank,” while renaming Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War, “Marcus Lafayette.”
- Leading up to the midterms, he seemed to confuse Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s name with Sen. Ralph Warnock’s at a campaign event.
- At a recent White House event recognizing the Kennedy Center honorees, Biden praised the band U2 and the “150 albums sold — among the most ever!” He then went on to laud singer Gladys Knight for her performance—in 1919.
- At the National Christmas Tree lighting, he appeared completely flummoxed and wandered off the stage—with the microphone:
Confused old man takes the mic with him pic.twitter.com/6ANsfoNPrq
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 30, 2022
The other creepy thing about Joe’s latest wanderings is that he took the little girl’s wrist and held on to it the entire way off the stage. If this was most people, you’d think, OK, not a big deal, he’s just being grandfatherly—but this is Joe Biden, a man who has a long history of hair-sniffing, squeezing, and otherwise inappropriate behavior. It’s amazing that neither Jill nor his advisors have made sure never to have young ladies and cameras in his presence at the same time.
Obviously she is more than happy to take his hand and guide him across the room. pic.twitter.com/ssqlcTXLpj
— phloggo (@phloggo) December 12, 2022
If you think I’m being too hard on the guy, take a look at this:
The regularity of his flubs seems to be increasing, and he turned 80 this fall. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine Biden maintaining the capacity run for re-election in 2024.
Authored by Bob Hoge via RedState
The Daily Signal delivers investigative and feature reporting and the most important political news and commentary. The team is committed to truth and unmatched in knowledge of Washington’s politics and policy debates. We tell these stories in formats that respect your time and intelligence.
