Politics

McDonald’s, Missiles & Marches: Biden’s Thursday Devolves Into All-Time Gaffe Reel

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[Photo Credit: Screenshot | White House]

Reagan Reese White House Correspondent
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President Joe Biden’s day trip Thursday to North Carolina was full of clip-worthy moments his campaign would probably like to forget.

Biden spent Thursday traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, to tout his economic policies, often referred to as “Bidenomics.” Throughout the trip meant to help the president ahead of the 2024 election, Biden committed several slip-ups and apparent gaffes when talking about his economic achievements, airstrikes in the Middle East and Washington, D.C.’s, annual March for Life.

The president kicked off the day by taking a few questions from reporters before his departure, where he had several eyebrow-raising moments.

“Tomorrow is the March for Life in Washington D.C.,” Owen Jensen, EWTN White House correspondent, said.

“I know that,” Biden replied.

“What’s your message to those attending?” Jensen asked.

“March,” Biden replied.

The president then was asked about the United States’ recent strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?” a reporter asked.

“Well, when you say working, do you mean stopping the Houthis? No,” the president answered. “Are they gonna continue? Yes.”

Biden’s next stumbles came as the president took the stage in Raleigh to address a crowd. The president appeared to look for Democratic North Carolina Rep. Deborah Ross, before realizing he had her confused with another individual.

“Where’s Deborah? I just had my picture taken with her,” Biden says, looking around the crowd.

“Oh, she couldn’t be here, actually. That’s not true. I got it mixed up,” Biden realized. 

Further into Biden’s remarks meant to announce $82 million in new investments through the American Rescue Plan, the president shared a hypothetical of students needing to use McDonald’s Wi-Fi to do schoolwork during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“How many of you spent time in McDonald’s parking lots tapping into their internet so you could do the homework with your kid?” Biden asked the crowd.

Some critics called Biden’s line anachronistic and even racially derivative.

“This trope that clueless Biden still uses is from the first decade of the 21st Century, nobody and I mean nobody goes to McDonalds anymore to get WiFi. Completely and totally out of touch,” Twitter user “@harrytpk” wrote.

In another moment, Biden appeared to confuse his numbers while highlighting his administration’s achievements in the state of North Carolina.

“To date, 400 — excuse me, 40,000 infrastructure projects have been announced across this nation,” the president said.

“Since I’ve been to office we’ve created 14 million new jobs. 440 new jobs in North Carolina only just since I came to office,” Biden continued.

In another moment, while trying to quiz the crowd on how many billionaires are in the U.S., Biden wandered from the podium, appearing to forget about the microphone he was speaking into.

“You know how many billionaires we have in America today?” Biden said before a crowd member yelled a response back.

“1,000” Biden responds, walking further away from the microphone.

“You know what their average rate, average tax rate, federal tax rate is?” he continued.

“[Inaudible] oh, I shouldn’t walk away from this,” Biden realized, walking back to the podium as the crowd laughed.

As the 81-year-old president runs for reelection, concerns about his age and fitness for office have continued to rise. A majority of Americans, 77%, were concerned about Biden’s age in September, saying he was too old to govern effectively, according to an Associated Press/NORC poll. Of Biden’s own supporters, 54% believe that the president is “too old” to be in office, a November New York Times/Siena College poll showed. (RELATED: Biden Staffers Ramps Up ‘Operation Bubble Wrap’ To Keep President In One Piece Before Election Day: REPORT)

Tensions are reportedly growing in the White House as Biden refuses to acknowledge his age and the limits that surround it, current and former aides apparently told Axios. In an effort to get Biden more rest, First Lady Jill Biden and her team have become “deeply involved” when it comes to planning the president’s schedule.

“I feel so much younger than my age,” Biden frequently says to aides and friends, Axios reported.