“Imagine had the tobacco industry been immune to prostitutes being sued. Come on.”
That is a direct quote from President Joe Biden, who made the slip during a speech on so-called “ghost guns.” Biden once called himself a “gaffe machine” and there are many examples of that throughout his presidency. His varying verbal missteps have drawn a range of responses, from laughter to mistakes big enough that the White House needs to officially correct the record.
“But all kidding aside of course, President Harris,” President Biden said during a commencement address.
“If your home is powered by safer, cheaper, cleaner electricity like solar or heat pumps, you can save about $500 a month on average,” the president proclaimed while promoting his green energy initiatives to voters. The White House clarified that he meant to say $500 over the course of a year.
The White House usually corrects those mistakes in the official transcript, but they have become the butt of jokes around the world.
In a recent “SNL”-style skit in Saudi Arabia, characters playing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris came out on stage to make a speech about the war in Ukraine.
The character playing President Biden walked up to the podium and said, “Putin listen to me. I have very important message for you. The message is…”
He then fell asleep snoring.
Other Biden gaffes have posed serious international challenges.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” President Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech in Poland.
Biden delivered those remarks after a NATO meeting intended to rally support for Ukraine. The Putin comment overshadowed everything else, and the White House immediately walked it back and said the president “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”
In another instance, the president’s impromptu comments rallied support around him. During a speech in Iowa, the president went off-script when he said Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine. Instead of walking it back, he stood firm and told the press, “Yes, I called it genocide.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted, “True words of a true leader @POTUS. Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil.”
True words of a true leader @POTUS. Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil. We are grateful for US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 12, 2022
“What Putin has done in Ukraine, which you know, doesn’t look far short of genocide to me,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after his trip to Ukraine.
Genocide has an official definition, and making that determination requires a thorough investigation. Elected officials and government agencies have been careful with their descriptions of alleged war crimes. When Biden accused Putin of genocide, he explained it was his personal view, not a legal determination.
President Biden’s gaffes have been well known since he was a Senator. As he moves into the midterm election cycle and likely increases his public appearances, the press and comedy writers will be waiting to see what the admittedly gaffe-prone president says next.
