A clip of a new verbal slip-up from President Joe Biden, in which he referred to Donald Trump as a "sitting president," sparked renewed mockery from conservatives online.
Biden has long been noted for a trend of awkward verbal gaffes or slip-ups during public addresses, going back to his time as vice president from 2009 to 2017. As president, the trend has taken on a new dimension for many who claim that he, the oldest person to hold the office, is mentally unfit to lead the nation and point to his gaffes as proof. Others have defended Biden, noting his history with a stutter that may contribute to his public speaking difficulties.
On Saturday, a new gaffe during a speech at a Democratic Party dinner in South Carolina sparked a wave of ridicule from online conservatives. While discussing remarks from his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, about the state of the U.S. economy, a heated Biden at one point referred to his political rival as a "sitting president," a term indicating that someone is currently holding an elected office.
"I apologize for losing my temper, but it really, really, really, offends me," Biden said. "In recent weeks, we're starting to see real evidence that American consumers are facing real confidence in their economy we're building. Let me tell you who else is noticing: Donald Trump. Did you see what he recently said about he wants to see the economy crash this year? Sitting president. As they say in my faith, bless me father for, I mean, come on, man."
It is possible, but not confirmed, that Biden had meant to refer to Trump as a former president, given the context of the line. Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Sunday for comment.
"Did this Dummy just call Donald Trump the sitting president?" one pro-Trump account on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, wrote.
"Mash-potato-brain Joe Biden calls Trump the sitting president," user "Uncensored USA" wrote. "Senile POS."
"Isn't he the sitting president?" user Jane Potvin wrote alongside an emoji indicating suspicion.
"Biden accidentally told the truth.." another user wrote. "DJT is the sitting president."
The slip-up seemed to take particular hold with pro-Trump social media users for its echoing of the Republican's false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which has prompted some supporters to claim that he was cheated out of the win in that race and either is still, or should be, the current president. The claims about election fraud have been widely debunked.
Trump, 77, has recently raised eyebrows over a series of blunders that have included slurring his words during campaign speeches, seemingly suggesting that former President Barack Obama is currently in office and most recently appearing to confuse Haley with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The former president falsely said that his Republican presidential rival was in charge of security at Congress when the complex was stormed by his supporters on January 6, 2021. Neither is the speaker of the House in charge of Capitol security.
Speaking at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, on January 18, Trump said: "By the way, they never report the crowd on January 6. You know Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it? All of it. Because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guards, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don't want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people."
Biden and Trump are heavily tipped for their party's nominations in the 2024 presidential election, making their general election rematch all-but-inevitable for many pundits and observers.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
