Joe Biden’s gaffes have been a source of humor for years, but now that the odds are very much in favor of him being the Democratic nominee, it doesn’t seem all that funny anymore. Truth be told, there are plenty of Biden gaffes that are just that: gaffes. Everyone has them. But there have been quite a few moments on the campaign trail that seem to be more serious than your garden-variety gaffes, and actually appear to be manifestations of Biden’s cognitive decline.
I’ve reviewed recent Biden gaffes to compile what I believe to be the best examples of evidence of Biden’s cognitive decline. There are plenty of gaffes not included here. For example, Biden not knowing what city or state he’s in is something we’ve seen from politicians who travel a lot who we don’t suspect of having diminished mental capacity. On the incident where Biden mixed up his wife and sister, I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he simply expected them to be on the opposite sides of him than they were on.
6. His confusion about black female senators
It was such an awkward moment during the November debate when Joe Biden, touting his support from the African American community, noted “I have more people supporting me in the black community because they know me, they know who I am. Three former chairs of the Black Caucus, the only African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate [Carol Moseley Braun], a whole range of people,” he said.
“That’s not true,” Senator Cory Booker said right away.
“The other one is here,” Senator Kamala Harris fired back at Biden.
“I said first!” Biden said, trying to recover from his mistake, though he never actually said first.
Now, in all fairness to Biden, Kamala Harris is not African American. She’s half Jamaican and half Indian, but few people on the left ever seem willing to make that distinction, so I can’t quite give him a pass for forgetting that he was sharing the stage with a black female Senator at the time he made that claim.
Joe Biden said tonight that he had the endorsement of the "only African American woman" elected to the US Senate, referring to former US Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. But that isn't true.
“The other one is here,” Kamala Harris said. pic.twitter.com/ZP8CFNfQ0h
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 21, 2019
Biden’s black female senator flubs continued while campaigning in South Carolina in late February when Biden made the most bizarre claim that he’s “looking forward to appointing the first African-American woman to the United States Senate.”
Joe Biden:
“I’m looking forward to appointing the first African American woman to the United States Senate.”
pic.twitter.com/GPXKdUyuIE— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 28, 2020
Senators are not appointed but elected. Biden should know this. He was a senator, after all. While he most likely meant to say Supreme Court, he didn’t correct himself, so he likely didn’t even realize his mistake.
5. Forgetting the Declaration of Independence
Joe Biden made this embarrassing gaffe on the campaign trail in Texas after his victory in South Carolina. Not only did he forget the words to the Declaration of Independence, he apparently forgot the document he was quoting.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” he said, somewhat slurring his speech while campaigning in Texas. “All men and women created by the—you know, you know, the thing.”
The line from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” is one of the most quoted sentences in history. You learn it in school growing up, and it is often referenced throughout your adult life.
Making the flub even worse was how his speech was slurred as he attempted to quote it.
This is a direct quote from Joe Biden:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created by the you know, you know the thing."pic.twitter.com/A0MRpMmIWk
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 2, 2020
Not a good sign.
4. Slurring his speech
Most people laughed at Biden’s recent flub in St. Louis when he said, “If you want to nominate a proud Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, an O’Biden Bama Democrat, join us.”
But, really, that was not the worst part of his speech. In fact, in the video below, Biden appears to slur his way through various points of his remarks.
#BidensCognitiveDecline#MichiganPrimary
There is no way this man would beat Trump. None. Trump isn't very bright, but he'd shred Biden. Joe is like this every single day but the media doesn't cover it.Bernie's our only shot.#BernieSurge pic.twitter.com/nH7g7Y3nRF
— Pat, just Pat. #IBelieveTara🌹🦺 (@PatTheBerner) March 10, 2020
3. His uncontrolled anger at voters
I don’t care who you are, if you’re running for the highest office of the land, you keep your cool with voters, even those who disagree with you. Especially when you fancy yourself to be a uniter.
But, on multiple occasions, Biden has been belligerent and insulting to voters whose only crime was challenging him on something.
Back in December, Biden called an Iowa voter “fat,” a “damn liar,” and “too old to vote for me” when he was accused of getting his son Hunter his job at Burisma. He also challenged the man a push-up contest.
A couple of months later in New Hampshire, Biden once again snapped at a voter after he asked her if she’d been to a caucus before and she told him yes. “No you haven’t,” he snapped. “You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier.”
After a New Hampshire voter asks @JoeBiden why they should trust he can turn his campaign around, he asks if she’s ever been to a caucus before; when she says yes, Biden snaps: "No you haven’t. You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier." pic.twitter.com/3uxOAu0Ues
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 9, 2020
The most recent example is from earlier this week when an autoworker challenged Biden’s record on guns, accusing him of “actively trying to end our Second Amendment right.”
“You’re full of sh**!” Biden replied. “I support the Second Amendment.” He also threatened to slap the man in the face.
WATCH: "You’re full of sh*t," @JoeBiden tells a man who accused him of "actively trying to end our Second Amendment right."
"I support the Second Amendment," Biden adds while vising under-construction auto plant in Detroit. @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/sueOSBaY9P
— Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) March 10, 2020
Democrats and the media tried to suggest that Biden’s outburst was actually a positive thing, but it’s hard to figure out how they can actually believe that. If you’ve ever had someone close to you suffer from dementia, you’ll know that anger and aggression are early symptoms.
2. Forgetting Obama’s name on multiple occasions
Joe Biden doesn’t want you to forget he was Barack Obama’s vice president, but Joe Biden has on occasion forgotten Barack Obama’s name.
"Because they invaded another country and annexed a significant portion of it called Crimea. He's saying that it was President [awkward long pause] my boss. It was his fault." pic.twitter.com/x5M6TKH4F6
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 5, 2020
This is not an example of typical forgetfulness. If Joe Biden was firing on all cylinders he would not forget the name of the president he served under for eight years. Heck, he made Obama a central theme of his campaign, justifying his candidacy on the fact Obama “chose” him and vetted him to be vice president.
1. Forgetting what office he’s running for
This is obviously one of the most troubling examples, not just because the man is running for president and should know that without hesitation, but the fact that he’s either forgotten what he’s running for or incorrectly stated what office he’s running for on multiple occasions makes it particularly troubling.
Last month, before his victory in South Carolina, Biden told a crowd, “My name’s Joe Biden. I’m a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate.” He gets some credit for getting his name right, but right after this gaffe, he continued, “Look me over. If you like what you see, help out. If not, vote for the other Biden.”
.@JoeBiden last night in Charleston, S.C.: "My name is Joe Biden. I’m a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. Look me over, if you like what you see, help out. If not, vote for the other Biden." pic.twitter.com/rzjlM5XZX5
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 25, 2020
You could almost laugh at this had it been the only example of such a mistake, but he appeared to forget the name of the office he’s currently seeking again on Tuesday, after another round of primary victories.
“These are all people been working like the devil to try to get us elected as the, uh…so I want to thank you,” he said.
Joe Biden: "These are all people been working like the devil to try to get us elected as the, uh, so I want to thank you"
Did Biden again forget which office he is running for???
Last month he told a group of people that he was running for the U.S. Senate pic.twitter.com/NkYHfcrwql
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) March 11, 2020
Something is most definitely wrong.
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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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