President Biden made 5 recent mistakes.
President Biden’s cognitive performance has once again come under scrutiny following a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, indicating that the 81-year-old president is displaying signs of slowing down during private meetings.
According to the Journal, numerous Republicans and even some Democrats have expressed concerns about the president’s mental acuity, based on conversations with 45 lawmakers and administration officials. While White House officials have attempted to downplay these accounts, here are five recent gaffes made by President Biden that have raised eyebrows:
May 20: Biden mistakenly claims Hamas hostage is at the White House
During a Rose Garden event celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month in May, President Biden erroneously stated that American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg Polin, currently held captive by Hamas, was in attendance.
“My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg Polin,” Biden remarked before swiftly correcting himself.
Realizing his mistake, Biden clarified, “And still he is not here with us, but he’s still being held by Hamas,” while acknowledging the presence of the 23-year-old’s parents at the event.
May 19: Biden suggests he was vice president during the coronavirus pandemic
During a campaign event in Michigan, President Biden appeared to suggest that he was vice president during the coronavirus pandemic and that former President Obama had dispatched him to Detroit to help combat the disease.
“And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic,” Biden stated. “And, what happened was Barack said to me: ‘Go to Detroit — and help fix it.’”
However, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the latter years of former President Trump’s term, not during Obama’s presidency. Biden served as vice president until January 2017.
April 24: Biden reads teleprompter instructions out loud
At a trade union conference in Washington, D.C., President Biden was seen reading teleprompter instructions out loud during his speech.
“I see an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up, where the wealthy pay their fair share, so we can have childcare, paid leave and so much more and still reduce the federal deficit and increase economic growth. Folks, imagine what we can do next, four more years, pause,” Biden recited.
The audience responded with a chant of “Four more years!” as Biden paused momentarily.
April 23: Biden questions Trump’s trustworthiness
Addressing a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida, President Biden remarked on the state of women’s rights in the country, attributing the decline to former President Trump.
“Look, I don’t think we are going to let them get away with it, do you?” Biden asked the crowd, who responded with a resounding “No!”
“And folks, in a sense, I don’t know why we are surprised by Trump — how many times does he have to prove we can’t be trusted?” Biden questioned.
Feb. 7: Biden claims to have spoken with deceased German chancellor
In 2021, President Biden claimed to have conversed with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who passed away in 2017, recounting these interactions during fundraising events.
During campaign receptions in New York, Biden shared details of discussions that purportedly took place at his first G7 meeting as president in June of that year.
Despite his claims, it was former German Chancellor Angela Merkel who attended the annual meeting, as Kohl had been deceased for four years.
As concerns over President Biden’s cognitive acuity continue to surface, these gaffes serve as examples of moments where his mental sharpness has been called into question. While the White House seeks to downplay these incidents, they add to the ongoing scrutiny surrounding the president’s cognitive performance.
