WASHINGTON — President Biden stumbled over his script Friday, saying at a civil rights event in the Oval Office that he served as vice president for 12 years — before catching his error and going on to claim that deadly race riots “could happen again” in America.
Biden, 81, made the remarks while signing an order to designate as a national monument an area of Springfield, Ill., where a white lynch mob in August 1908 clashed with black residents near Abraham Lincoln’s former home.
“I never thought that, having been in the Senate for so many years as well as vice president for 12 years — for 8 years and president for 4 years that I’d see, that I’d have to worry about people wanting to erase history,” Biden said, making reference to Republican-led states banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory, which emphasizes race as the primary prism for historical analysis.
“It’s important, important, important,” Biden added, slapping the Resolute Desk with his hand, “that anybody that walks by this area knows what happened here because it could happen again if we don’t take care of ourselves and fight for this democracy.”
At least 17 people are believed to have died in the Springfield riot, including members of the mob and black residents.
Biden was forced out of his campaign for a second term last month by fellow Democrats concerned about his mental acuity — after a spate of gaffes and instances of apparently confusion generated concerns about a landslide loss by the incumbent.
Leading Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, have called on Biden to resign before his term ends on Jan. 20, citing the same concerns about his cognitive fitness.
