Biden couldn’t remember the word ‘veteran’ at 2023 event and had to ask the audience for help: report
President Biden couldn’t remember the word “veteran” at a fundraising event last year — and ended up having to ask a group of attendees for help describing a person who served in the military, a new report says.
The Wall Street Journal on Monday detailed examples of the 81-year-old president’s increasing recent stumbles, including during critical fundraising events, as concerns continue to mount over his ability to serve a second term.
At an event at the Four Seasons in New York in June 2023, Biden spoke for five to 10 minutes before taking questions from attendees — and suffering a major freeze in which he could not recall the word he was looking for, according to people who attended the event.
The attendees were shocked by how fragile he seemed, including when the president — the proud father of late Iraqi war vet Beau Biden — forgot the word “veteran,” the outlet reported.
Biden allegedly ended up having to ask the group for help remembering the word, telling them he wanted to refer to a person who served in the Army or Navy.
The Journal detailed several other fundraising events during which Biden either noticeably spoke slowly or stumbled over his words, with one person who attended one this year in south Florida saying he appeared to have “lost a step” but didn’t seem impaired.
At another event in New York around the time of the United Nations General Assembly in the fall, Biden also seemed at a loss of words while trying to answer questions about the Middle East, until an aide stepped in to whisper something in his ear, the report said.
Biden was then able to answer, a person who was there told the Journal.
When asked about the episodes, Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz criticized the anonymous sources and questioned their ability to fairly recount the events.
“None of them change the facts at play this election and what this campaign will be focused on every single day: that President Biden is the most accomplished president in modern history,” Munoz told the outlet.
The Journal report also outlined how some of Biden’s closest aides have shielded him from too much travel, as well as too many interactions with the media and lawmakers.
Criticism has been growing from both sides of the aisle over Biden’s mental clarity after his disastrous debate performance against GOP foe former President Donald Trump last month.
What to know about the calls for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race:
- President Biden’s poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate left some Democrats unsure of his fitness for office and future as the party’s candidate.
- More than a dozen congressional Democrats have joined in calling for Biden’s exit from the race. Former Biden supporter George Clooney echoed these calls in an op-ed published in the New York Times just weeks after he helped lead a record-breaking fundraiser for the Democrat.
- Democratic voters have continued to raise concerns about Biden’s nomination since the debate, with speculations and suggestions for replacement nominees running rampant.
- Biden’s former running mate Barack Obama has reportedly been trying to pressure him to drop out, and had prior knowledge of Clooney’s op-ed. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly told Biden he could not beat former President Donald Trump this time around.
- As the Democratic National Convention approaches, California delegates for the Democratic Party are reportedly in disarray as debate over the president’s chances of re-election threatens to tear the party apart.
- However, the Biden campaign has denied any plans for Biden to bow out and for Kamala Harris to step in as the Democratic nominee. Sources close to the president believe he might not be willing to drop out, while other sources claim he is “receptive” to giving up on a second term.
Biden addressed the growing criticism with congressional Democrats in a letter Monday, writing that he is “fully committed” to staying in the 2024 presidential race — while failing to mention his debate debacle and ensuing concerns over his age and cognitive health.
Biden’s letter, which instead largely focused on bashing Trump, came after four more senior House Democrats called for the elderly commander-in-chief to end his re-election bid.
“Now that you have returned from the July 4th recess, I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” Biden wrote in his letter.
Biden has previously maintained he would not drop out and reiterated his point in the letter, arguing that voters chose him as the Democratic nominee and that exiting the race now would say that “this process didn’t matter.”
The president caused great alarm among fellow Democrats with his lackluster performance in the CNN debate June 27 — during which he repeatedly froze up, stumbled over his words and often failed to answer questions without making embarrassing gaffes.
On a call with donors later Monday, Biden said he planned to “attack, attack, attack, attack” Trump at the next debate, set for Sept. 10.
