Covid-Hit Joe Biden Calls Defense Secretary ‘Black Man’ as He Struggles to Remember His Name
July 18 2024, Published 2:34 p.m. ET
President Joe Biden seemed to struggle to remember the name of his own defense secretary amid increased concerns over the aging, COVID-stricken leader's cognitive decline.
The 81-year-old POTUS' latest gaffe came as he boasted about his record of appointing Black men to important positions within his administration in an interview with BET on Wednesday, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Biden said: “It’s all about treating people with dignity. Look at the heat I’m getting because I named a — the, uh — secretary of defense, a Black man. I named [Supreme Court Associate Justice] Ketanji Brown [Jackson]. Because of the people I’ve named.”
The clip quickly went viral on social media, with users arguing over whether Biden actually said “a Black man” or “the Black man” when referring to defense secretary Lloyd Austin.
Political commentator Emma Vigeland tweeted: “Biden forgets Lloyd Austin's name and refers to him as "the black man." Let's see how the Biden dead-enders spin this one.”
Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen added: “A POTUS who cannot remember the name of his SecDef — and instead calls him ‘the black man’ — is not mentally equipped to be in charge of 5,000 nuclear weapons.”
Reporter Ken Klippenstein pushed back, arguing: “I think people are misconstruing this clip. If you listen closely, Biden seems to say ‘the secretary of defense, a black man’ not ‘the black man’; and the context is he’s listing his black appointees.”
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This isn't the only name that Biden has messed up in the past week. He previously drew criticism for accidentally calling Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” and introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his mortal enemy “President Putin”.
Dozens of top Democrats have begun questioning the paleolithic prez's ability to lead in the wake of his disastrous debate against opponent Donald Trump.
CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta described Biden's debate performance as “concerning,” highlighting his “confused rambling, sudden loss of concentration in the middle of a sentence, halting speech, and absence of facial animation, resulting at times in a flat, open-mouthed expression”.
Gupta and others have urged the president to undergo cognitive and neurological testing as his top aides have been accused of “aggressively” covering up his shocking decline.
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Although Biden has refused all calls to drop out of the race and maintained that he still plans to run in November, the stubborn octogenarian is said to be growing “more receptive” to the idea of withdrawing.
One senior advisor told CNN: “He’s being receptive. Not as defiant as he is publicly. He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win,’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win? It’s still unclear where he’s going to land but seems to be listening.”
An army of top Democrats has started rebelling, with even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi issuing shocking votes of no confidence in Biden.