Fun:List of Joe Biden gaffes

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“”If the gaffe does destroy Biden's chances, few in either party will be particularly surprised. The senator's biggest enemy has always been his own mouth ... He simply cannot control what comes out of his mouth.

Joe Biden, the current president of the United States and former vice president under Barack Obama has a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease long history of making some incredibly silly and downright questionable gaffes. A self-proclaimed gaffe machine, Biden has done a decent job at playing off some of the funny ones, while staying quiet or apologizing for the not so funny ones. Biden has long been known to suffer from speech disfluency, commonly known as stuttering. This disability has been tied to Biden's so-called penchant for gaffes.[1] Listed here are some of the gaffes that can be found and reliably sourced, all listed in order by date of occurrence. It should be noted that Biden has a lively sense of humor, so although many of his critics have always been ready to refer to one of his occasionally odd statements as a "gaffe," such criticism can speak more to the intentions of his critics than to Biden's cognitive ability. In fact, the funny things a politician says are usually called gaffes by critics, when they are only funny things for a politician to say.

Gaffes[edit]

1970s[edit]

“”When it comes to issues like abortion, amnesty, and acid, I’m about as liberal as your grandmother. I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body,
—On his opposition to the above mentioned issues and Roe v. Wade (June 1974)[2]
“”I think the Democratic Party could stand a liberal George Wallace — someone who's not afraid to stand up and offend people, someone who wouldn't pander, but would say what the American people know in their gut is right,
—On praising former Alabama Governor and segregationist George Wallace (October 12, 1975)[3]
  • Everything that came out of his mouth regarding busing.[4][5]

1980s[edit]

“”I started thinking as I was coming over here, why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? [Pointing to his wife in the audience:] Why is it that my wife who is sitting out there in the audience is the first in her family to ever go to college? Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? Is it because I'm the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree that I was smarter than the rest?
—Plagiarizing one of British politician Neil Kinnock's speeches (September 12, 1987), which then brought up previous instances of Biden plagiarizing other speeches.[6] This played a big factor in the demise of his 1988 presidential campaign.
“”Much ado about nothing
—On the ensuing controversy regarding his plagiarizing of other politicians speeches (September 17, 1987)[7]
“”I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do, I suspect, [...] I went to law school on a full academic scholarship. The only one in my in my class that had a full academic scholarship. In the first year in law school I decided didn't want to be in law school and ended up in the bottom two-thirds of my class and then decided I wanted to stay, went back to law school and in fact ended up in the top half of my class. I won the international Moot Court Competition. I was the outstanding student in the political science department at the end of my year. I graduated with three degrees from undergraduate school.
—Biden bullshitting his grades when in reality he graduated 75th of 86, earned a single B.A., and received a half scholarship to law school.[8][9][10]

2000s[edit]

The golden age of Biden and his gaffes begins here.

“”I've had a great relationship. In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking.
—Telling a Indian American supporter that he has a great relationship with them. The supporter in question later defended Biden (June 17, 2006)[11]
“”I mean, you got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy, ... I mean, that's a storybook man.
—Describing Barack Obama on the same day Biden launched his own presidential campaign. One of his biggest gaffes, he quickly apologized to Obama but the slip had already cost Biden his chances of winning the 2008 nomination (January 31, 2007)[12][13][14][15][16]
“”This is bullshit
—On Dubya's speech to the Israeli Knesset about his opposition to negotiation with terrorists (May 15, 2008)[17]
“”I'm told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up Chuck, let 'em see you. Oh, God love you. What am I talking about. I'll tell you what, you're making everybody else stand up, though, pal.
—Telling a Missouri state senator to stand up before realizing that he is confined to a wheelchair. (September 9, 2008)[18]
“”Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be Vice President of the United States of America. Let's get that straight. She's a truly close personal friend. She is qualified to be President of the United States of America. She's easily qualified to be Vice President of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me. But she's first rate.
—Saying at a speech that Hillary Clinton would've been a better pick for Vice President than him. (September 20, 2008)[19]
“”Remember, I said it standing here, if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.
—Biden reminding people to remember anything he said or else... (October 20, 2008)[20]
“”Am I doing this again? ... My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts'.
—Upon realizing that he was also supposed to administer the presidential oath to Barack Obama (January 21, 2009)[21]
“”If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30% chance we're going to get it wrong.
—Regarding the repercussions the Democratic Party could face for supporting a $900 billion dollar stimulus package (February 6, 2009)[22]
“”I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places right now. It's not that it's going to Mexico, it's that you are in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes everywhere through the aircraft. That's me.
—On the 2009 swine flu pandemic (April 30, 2009)[23]

2010s[edit]

“”This is a big fucking deal
—Remark to Barack Obama shortly after the signing of the Affordable Health Care Act into law (March 23, 2010)[24][25]
“”God save the queen.
—Muttered just after confirming Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election. Biden did not realise his mic was still on[26][27]

2019[edit]

Biden's run for the 2020 Democratic nomination has so far brought out the worst of him, as seen here.

“”I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie” and “By the way, he gave me permission to touch him,
—Insensitive jokes after hugging a union president and child during a union speech. This was in light of the big controversy regarding Biden's supposed inappropriate physical contact with women and children in the past. Biden soon offered a mixed apology (April 5, 2019)[28]
“”I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy,' he always called me 'son,' [...] Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done, [...] We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished.
—Giving a speech about working with segregationist Senators at a fundraising event despite being warned by advisers not to use Eastland as an example of someone he could work with (June 19, 2019)[29]
Fourth Debate (July 31, 2019)
“”The bills that the president. Excuse me, future president [Cory Booker]
—Mistaking Booker for Obama.[30]
“”Go to Joe 30330
—Confusingly telling his campaign phone number after the candidates before him stated their campaign websites.[31]
In between the debates
“”tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before.
—Mistaking the locations of the mass shootings that happened in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio (August 4, 2019)
“”We choose unity over division, we choose science over fiction, we choose truth over facts!
—During a speech at the Iowa State Fair, attempting to use the rhetorical device of the Rule of Three. (August 8, 2019)[32]
“”Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids [followed by an all too late correction of] [...] Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids.
—Telling a crowd at a Asian & Latino Coalition town hall meeting his thoughts on poor kids not succeeding at school (August 9, 2019)[33]
“”I watched what happened when the kids from Parkland marched up to- and I met with them and they went off to the hill when I was vice president and they went off to the hill to go up to those neighborhoods,
—Joe Biden was not vice president during the Parkland shooting marches or when he met with the students, he repeated his error saying he was vice president at the time to reporters later that day. (August 10, 2019)[34]
“”I want to be clear, I’m not going nuts,” and “I’m not sure whether it was the medical school or where the hell I spoke. But it was on the campus.
—After forgetting which building he was speaking in at a college (August 24, 2019)[35]
“”The details are irrelevant in terms of decision-making
—After telling a wildly inaccurate version of a soldiers war story at a town hall meeting which led to questions about Biden's ability to serve as president (September 3, 2019)[36][37] See also similarly stupid gaffes made by Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“”But if Donald Hump... Donald Trump is reelected, Freudian slip
—Misspeaking Donald Trump's last name at a Democratic convention (September 7, 2019)[38]

2020[edit]

As the presidential election heated up and Biden was speaking more frequently, the pace at which he made gaffes ramped up.

“”One of the things I'm proudest of is getting passed, getting moved, getting in control of the Paris Climate Accord, I'm the guy who came back after meeting with Deng Xiaoping and making the case that I believe China will join if we put pressure on them. We got almost 200 nations to join.
—Biden confusing Xi Jinping, the current president of China, with Deng Xiaoping, former paramount leader of China who died in 1997.(February 24, 2020)[39]
“”Where I come from, you don’t go very far unless you ask. My name’s Joe Biden. I’m a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate,
—Forgetting which elected position he is running for at a South Carolina first in the south dinner. (February 24, 2020)[40] (This one was actually used by Sleepy Joe's opponent, Donald Trump, in a desperate attempt to discredit him.[41])
“”Imagine if I said we give immunity to drug companies, we give immunity to tobacco companies. That has caused carnage on our streets. One hundred and fifty million people have been killed since 2007 when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability. More than all the wars,
—During the February 25th democratic debate, meaning to say 150k, as well as seemingly trying to pin it on Bernie.
“”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women were created by the go-, uh, you know the, you know the thing!
—Attempting to quote the Declaration of Independence during a speech. (March 2, 2020)[42]
“”If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black.
—During the Breakfast Club podcast. (May 22, 2020) [43]
“”He [Trump] says to them about the ‘Poor Boys’, last time we were on stage here. He said, ‘I told him to stand down and stand ready’. Come on. This guy has a dog whistle about as big as a fog horn.
—Biden's best malapropism, referring to the Proud Boys (October 22, 2020)[44]
“”We have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics,
—During the Pod Save America podcast, likely meaning to say "voter protection". (October 24, 2020) [45]

2021[edit]

Given that the president is expected to give public addresses, it's no surprise that Biden's gaffes continue into his presidency.

“”...so I want to thank you both, and I want to thank the secretary, the former general - I keep calling him general - my... my, er... the guy who runs that outfit over there.
—Forgetting the name of his Secretary of Defense during an International Women's Day address. (March 8, 2021)[46]
“”Visit vaccines.gum or text to your... text your zip code.
—Mispronouncing vaccines.gov and then stumbling over his instructions. (May 4, 2021)[47]
“”Since January 20 and we’re talking now about 15 months ago, the average daily cases are down from 184,000 to 19,000
—During a COVID press conference, meaning to say 5 months. (June 4, 2021)[48]
“”And I want to thank that fella down under. Thank you very much pal.
—While announcing the AUKUS security pactWikipedia, referring to Scott Morrison. (September 15, 2021)[49]
“”...all kidding aside, of course, President Harris, who’s a proud Howard alum, she might have something to say about Delaware State
—Kamala Harris is the Vice President, not the President. (December 20, 2021)[50]
“”Let's go Brandon, I agree.
—Mistakenly repeating an anti-Biden sloganWikipedia during his Christmas address. (December 24, 2021)[51]

2022[edit]

“” “It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion, and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do
—Commenting on possible Russian Invasion (11 Jan, 2022)[52]
“”Putin may circle Kyiv, but he'll never win the hearts of the Iranian people.
—During his first State of the Union address confusing Ukrainians with Iranians. (March 1, 2022)[53]
“”America is a nation that can be defined in a single word: *gibberish*
—On the confirmation of Justice Jackson. (April 8, 2022)[54]
“”My mother drove us rather than us being able to walk and guess what' The first frost, you know what was happening'... That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer and why for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation,
— During a climate change address, referring to skin cancer he had in 2020. (July 20, 2022)[55]
“”Jackie, are you here? Where's Jackie? I didn’t think she was – she wasn’t going to be here
—Referring to the late Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., who died in a car wreck in August, 2022[56]
“”That's why we defeated it in 2018 when they tried to do it. We went to 54 states
—At a Democratic event in Pennsylvania. There are only 50 states in the US. (October 30, 2022)[57]
“”You think I don't know how fucking old I am?
—After getting fed up with suggestions that, at 80 years old, he might be too old to run again. (December 14, 2022)[58]

2023[edit]

“”[Rob Kearney] was a hell of a rugby player, and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.
—In an Irish pub, confusing New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team with Britain's anti-IRA paramilitary force the Black and Tans. (April 12, 2023)[59]
“”[Nancy Pelosi] helped rescue the economy in the Great Depression.
—During a speech praising Pelosi, meaning to say "the great recession (of 2008)". (May 16, 2023)[60]
“”It's hard to tell really. But he's [Putin] clearly losing the war in Iraq.
—At a press conference, meaning to say Ukraine. (June 28, 2023)[61]

2024[edit]

“”[A]nd I sat down and said 'America's back, and Mitterand, from Germany, I mean, from France, looked at me and said, uh, said, y'know, wh-, why, how, how long you back for?
—Not only confusing Emmanuel Macron with Francois Mitterand, who died in 1996, at the G7 summit in 2021, and confusing France with Germany, but apparently forgetting what precisely he was trying to say in the first place. (February 4, 2024)[62]
“”And then Helmut Kohl turned to me and said, ‘What would you say, Mr. President, if you picked up the London Times and learned that a thousand people had broken down the doors of the British Parliament, killed some bobbies on the way in, to deny the prime minister to take office'.
—Confusing Angela Merkel with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, about the U.S. Capitol riot, which happened in 2021. (February 7, 2024)[63]
“”We finally beat Medicare.
—Joe Biden during the first presidential debate of 2024 (June 27, 2024)[64]
“”Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin. President Putin? President Zelensky. I'm so focused on beating Putin.
—Joe Biden mixing up Zelensky and Putin's names at the NATO Summit (July 11, 2024)[65]
“”Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be Vice President did I think she was not qualified to be president.
—Joe Biden mixing up Vice President Harris with Trump at a press conference (July 11, 2024)[66]
“”Tomorrow, I’m doing 9/11.
—Joe Biden (September 10, 2024)[67]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/accessibility/471707-how-joe-bidens-gaffes-have-affected-his-campaign-and
  2. ↑ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-abortion-1974_n_560c5ee3e4b076812700b4d6
  3. ↑ https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/21/bobby-rush-biden-ignorant-1376557
  4. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/us/politics/biden-busing.html
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX7hni-zGD8&t=3493
  6. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1895081,00.html
  7. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1895081,00.html
  8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j0FS0Z6ho
  9. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1895081,00.html
  10. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/22/us/biden-admits-errors-and-criticizes-latest-report.html
  11. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1643323,00.html
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3rKpYT3kxw
  13. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1644536,00.html
  14. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/31/biden.obama/
  15. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070208030943/http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpolitics/20070131/cm_rcp/bidens_launch_pad_disaster
  16. ↑ http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/012211.php
  17. ↑ https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-now/2008/05/biden-bushs-comments-were-bullshit-008796
  18. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1841630,00.html
  19. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1847918,00.html
  20. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1846619,00.html
  21. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1895061,00.html
  22. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1846610,00.html
  23. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1894979,00.html
  24. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHKq9tt50O8
  25. ↑ http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1895156_1894977_1846609,00.html
  26. ↑ https://metro.co.uk/2017/01/08/why-did-joe-biden-whisper-god-save-the-queen-after-certifying-the-us-election-result-6368576/
  27. ↑ Biden's Open Mic After Trump Election: "God Save The Queen"
  28. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/us/politics/joe-biden-controversy.html
  29. ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/politics/joe-biden-senate-segregationists-civility/index.html
  30. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?51=&v=sL3AYay7Rdw
  31. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZmUnR9TOmo
  32. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15RjcRJ3Z70
  33. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idpevmeoK1A
  34. ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/11/politics/joe-biden-parkland-victims/index.html
  35. ↑ https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/458817-biden-tells-supporters-after-flub-im-not-going-nuts
  36. ↑ https://www.npr.org/2019/09/02/756872790/details-are-irrelevant-biden-says-verbal-slip-ups-don-t-undermine-his-judgment
  37. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-he-campaigns-for-president-joe-biden-tells-a-moving-but-false-war-story/2019/08/29/b5159676-c9aa-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html
  38. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/a-freudian-slip-biden-goes-after-president-donald-hump/2019/09/07/75d6ae84-5853-4876-934d-70cbe2e6e3c4_video.html
  39. ↑ https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-claims-worked-2016-paris-climate-deal-chinese-leader-deng-xiaoping-died-1997-1488915
  40. ↑ https://nypost.com/2020/02/25/joe-biden-says-hes-a-candidate-for-us-senate-in-latest-gaffe/
  41. ↑ https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/us-elections-government/ny-trump-biden-senator-20201013-lppx477rvfar3f2itdpzjoq75m-story.html
  42. ↑ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIVJCDwZUkM
  43. ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/22/politics/biden-charlamagne-tha-god-you-aint-black/index.html
  44. ↑ Even if Joe Biden misspoke about 'Proud Boys,' social media embraces 'poor boys' by Joshua Bote (Published 8:56 a.m. ET Oct. 23, 2020; Updated 10:46 a.m. ET Oct. 23, 2020) USA Today.
  45. ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-fact-check-biden-voter-protection-not/fact-check-clip-of-biden-taken-out-of-context-to-portray-him-as-plotting-a-voter-fraud-scheme-idUSKBN27E2VH
  46. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vw5nSewF6E
  47. ↑ https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/yearinreview2017/biden-stumbles-over-vaccine-website-calling-it-vaccinesgum/vi-BB1gmlRn
  48. ↑ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/biden-blunders-again-thinks-hes-been-president-for-15-months/video/ee059d9f91abdaf543d4171afbd98e92
  49. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/16/joe-biden-forgets-scott-morrisons-name-during-historic-pact-announcement
  50. ↑ https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/presidentharris-trends-after-bidens-verbal-gaffe-7678829/lite/
  51. ↑ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ETmlD0l4T3Y
  52. ↑ https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/19/biden-ukraine-russia-527440
  53. ↑ https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-iranian-people-video-ukrainian-kamala-harris-1683960
  54. ↑ https://youtu.be/mqNtQ6c_HAU
  55. ↑ Joe Biden's 'I have cancer' gaffe stuns Twitter; White House clarifies speech flub by Dipaneeta Das, July 20, 2022, Republic World
  56. ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/28/biden-calls-out-recently-deceased-congresswoman-jackie-walorski/10449777002/
  57. ↑ https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/joe-biden-watch-gaffe-prone-joe-biden-says-he-campaigned-in-54-us-states-there-are50-101667112271187.html
  58. ↑ https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/you-think-i-don-t-know-how-f-ing-old-i-am-frustrated-joe-biden-snaps-over-age-questions/ar-AA15gX2A?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=383de0854dbc4ca2a28ce80703e74e56
  59. ↑ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-rugby-black-and-tans/
  60. ↑ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/05/16/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-2023-we-are-emily-gala/
  61. ↑ In verbal slip, Biden says Putin losing the war in 'Iraq' Reuters
  62. ↑ Joe Biden confuses Emmanuel Macron with former French leader Francois Mitterrand who died in 1996, Sky News
  63. ↑ Biden now claims he spoke to second dead European leader in gaffe-prone campaign week, The Independent
  64. ↑ At debate, Biden meant to say he had beaten ‘big pharma,’ not Medicare, AP News
  65. ↑ Biden stumbles over Zelenskyy introduction, calls him ‘President Putin’, CNBC
  66. ↑ Biden loses his train of thought, calls Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ in solo press conference, CNBC
  67. ↑ Joe Biden said ‘I’m doing 9/11’ and it instantly became a meme, Daily Dot
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