President Biden told journalists Sunday that he’s a strong supporter of “the collective bargaining effort” when asked about “strikes in Yemen” — in the retiring leader’s latest brutal gaffe.
The context of Biden’s remarks made clear that he was speaking about a looming port-workers strike that could cripple shipping from Maine to Texas beginning Tuesday and not about Israeli airstrikes Sunday on sites controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen.
“Any comment on the strikes in Yemen, Mr. President?” a journalist shouted across the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base as Biden, 81, prepared to board Air Force One.
“I’ve spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I’m supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they’ll settle the strike,” Biden replied.
It’s possible that Biden did not hear the full question over the humming machinery of the presidential jet, but his mixup drew mockery all the same.
“He should be feeding pigeons on a park bench. We have no president,” Boston radio host Gerry Callahan remarked on X.
Ohio Republican state Rep. Brian Stewart wrote: “I never want to hear a Democrat utter the phrase ’25th Amendment’ ever again if they’re going to just let him ride out the next 4 months pretending to be capable to serve.”
Although it’s possible that Biden either was confused or misheard the question, it could also be that he intentionally answered about a different topic — an old trick of presidents when they have the plausible deniability of humming aircraft nearby.
For example, then-President Donald Trump in 2018 answered a question about a star New York Times reporter “sleeping with” a Senate Intelligence Committee source by instead answering about sources “leaking” to the media, reframing the subject.
Biden was forced by fellow Democratic leaders to end his campaign for a second term on July 21 after his confused appearance at the June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
America’s oldest-ever president has refused bipartisan demands that he resign rather than serve out his term through Jan. 20.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in July after Biden stepped aside and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) said days earlier: “I doubt the president’s judgment about his health, his fitness to do the job, and whether he is the one making important decisions about our country, rather than unelected advisers. Americans deserve to feel their president is fit enough to do the job.”
