President Joe Biden has long been known for his verbal gaffes, but their increasing frequency over the past few years has led some to suspect that it is evidence of his declining mental health and cognitive capabilities.
That was on clear display during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, during which Biden uttered several apparent misstatements, including one that seemed to suggest that certain appliances and electronic devices had been “laid off” from their jobs during the height of the pandemic, the Western Journal reported.
Biden said what?
Per the transcript of what President Biden actually said during his annual address to a joint session of Congress, he was discussing the shortage of semiconductor computer chips that arose during the pandemic and continues to trouble America’s manufacturing sector.
“Today’s automobiles need 3,000 chips — each of those automobiles — but American automobiles couldn’t make enough cars because there weren’t enough chips,” Biden declared.
He added, “Car prices went up. People got laid off. So did everything from refrigerators to cellphones.”
BIDEN: “There weren’t enough chips. Car prices went up. People got laid off. So did everything from refrigerators to cell phones.” 🤔 pic.twitter.com/iPdGvdRrZP
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 8, 2023
Comparing Biden’s actual remarks to his remarks “as prepared”
To their credit, in addition to the transcript of Biden’s actual remarks, the White House also posted a transcript of his remarks as prepared — and it truly is a stark difference.
Per his prepared remarks, Biden was supposed to have said, “Today’s automobiles need up to 3,000 chips each, but American automakers couldn’t make enough cars because there weren’t enough chips. Car prices went up. So did everything from refrigerators to cellphones.”
Obviously, that line was meant to contextualize the broad impact of the semiconductor chip shortage for things as varied as cars and electronic devices and kitchen appliances.
Where, exactly, the “people got laid off” line came from that Biden inserted into that sentence is a mystery, as none of the surrounding lines in that portion of his prepared remarks make any reference to lost jobs — though he did dubiously claim a few lines later that more than 800,000 manufacturing jobs had been “created,” when, in fact, most of those jobs weren’t new but rather were laid off workers being brought back to previously existing jobs.
Numerous other gaffes throughout speech
The New York Post reported that there were plenty of other verbal gaffes and miscues throughout President Biden’s speech, including one right at the beginning when he referred to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the “minority” leader, a mistake he self-corrected just a moment later.
Biden also appeared to have forgotten the name of the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, a special guest at the event, even as he called for her to stand and be recognized, though the Post noted that her name wasn’t spelled out in his prepared remarks.
A comparative perusal of the two transcripts — his remarks “as prepared” vs. “as delivered” — reveals numerous other mistakes, incongruent statements, and off-script ramblings throughout the entirety of the address.
Though the White House and his most ardent supporters will likely never admit it, it has become increasingly apparent to many Americans that President Biden simply lacks the mental fitness required for the demanding job that he never should have ascended to in the first place.
