Ever since Joe Biden became the President of the United States, there is a growing concern among an overwhelming section of the American population about his deteriorating mental state. Those concerns were rekindled on Thursday when the US President committed a series of inexplicable goof ups and was caught in a strange pose during his CNN town hall.
During the event, organised by the CNN, and hosted by Anderson Cooper, Biden spoke on a range of issues, spanning from China’s aggression, high inflation, abolishing the filibuster and gas prices. He also shared details on the stalled negotiations to pass his multi-trillion-dollar social safety net bill.
However, what caught public attention was not his unremarkable comments on a host of issues but his demeanour that suggested there was something wrong with the US President. The gaffes committed by the US President sparked concerns among netizens about Biden’s mental capacity to lead the world’s most powerful nation.
Here are some of the unusual moments that became the talk of the town on and off social media platforms.
Imaginary podium
In the town hall that was organised in July, Biden had dismissed price rise as a short term phenomenon. Last week, economists told the Wall Street Journal that high inflation will likely remain to 2022, and Cooper asked whether the President agreed with the assessment or not.
In the 19 seconds that Anderson took to put out the question, Biden placed his forearms with his fists clenched in air such that they gave an impression that he was resting his hands on a podium.
President Biden says he expects gas prices will stay high until 2022.
— CNN (@CNN) October 22, 2021
“I don’t see anything that’s going to happen in the meantime that’s going to significantly reduce gas prices” #BidenTownHall https://t.co/2a7F6JKm0H pic.twitter.com/EOxLdHIgYa
Several Twitter users pointed out that there was no podium there. Many others also mocked the president saying it looked like he was holding an “imaginary jet pack”.
Joe Biden shows zero with his index finger and thumb held close to his eye
Moving ahead, when Biden was asked about the possibility of tax rises for the wealthy, the US President said “don’t pay a cent”. And while he responded asking corporations to not pay a dime, he made a circle with his index finger and thumb and held it up to his eye.
“You have 55 corporations, for example, in the United States of America, making over $40 billion, don’t pay a cent—not a single little red cent,” he added.
Joe Biden forgets the name of America’s second largest port—Long Beach Port
The United States President faced another embarrassing moment when Cooper had to interject to remind him of the name of America’s second largest port.
Biden was speaking on the supply chain woes ahead of the holiday season when he stammered in his speech, unable to call to mind the name of Long Beach Port. Cooper had to intervene to remind the US president he was talking about the aforementioned port.
Biden looks completely lost when talking about the current supply chain crisis on live TV:
— Danny De Urbina (@dannydeurbina) October 22, 2021
“and ah and ah um um… what am I doing here?”
Anderson Cooper had to remind him about the Port of Long Beach… pic.twitter.com/xmCmJvawzi
“Forty percent of all products coming into the United States of America on the West Coast go through Los Angeles and … what am I doing here?” said Biden.
Cooper chimed in: “Is it Long Beach?” To which Biden replied: “Long Beach. Thank you.”
Biden mistakes Congressman Kweisi Mfume for the mayor of the Baltimore
Another faux pas by the US President took place when he pointed to a man in the audience and alleged he was the mayor of the Baltimore.
Joe Biden says he sees “the Mayor” of Baltimore in the audience (Brandon Scott)
— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) October 22, 2021
It’s actually Congressman Kweisi Mfume (whose District includes Morgan State and was never Mayor of Baltimore) pic.twitter.com/zLOBFgReVp
As it turned out, the man whom Biden was pointing out was not the mayor of the Baltimore. He was Congressman Kweisi Mfume, whose District includes Morgan State and was never Mayor of Baltimore.
This is not the first time that Joe Biden has been a part of torrid public appearance. Since his election to the post of US President, there have been umpteen incidents that have led people into questioning if the President is suffering from dementia and losing his mental acuity.
In fact, even during the run-up to the US presidential elections, political observers and commentators had raised concerns about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and ominous signs of senility creeping in, which they claimed would seriously cloud his ability to function as the President of the most powerful country on Earth.
