Just days after incorrectly referring to a deceased president of France. President Joe Biden twice mentioned speaking with a former German chancellor who had died before the date he mentioned.
The king of gaffes spoke at a Las Vegas campaign event on Sunday where he mentioned “Mitterand from Germany.” Though he corrected that he had meant France, his anecdote incorrectly noted it was Francois Mitterand at the G7 summit he referred to – even though Mitterand died in 1996, nearly three decades before the summit.
On Wednesday, Biden told the same story at multiple fundraisers in New York but this time, he told donors about attending his first G7 summit as president in 2021 and how he spoke with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl – who had died four years earlier in 2017.
Biden takes no questions after leaving New York City, where he recalled — twice, at two separate fundraisers — a 2021 event with a German chancellor who had been dead for years.
He also fails to salute the Marines. pic.twitter.com/qfTGEfROm4
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 8, 2024
Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich flagged pool reports on the campaign events on X, quoting, “… at the 2nd and 3rd events today POTUS seemed to say that Helmut Kohl (who died in 2017) was there with him at his first foreign trip as President talking about Jan 6th…Angela Merkel was the German chancellor in 2021.”
Another slip at Biden’s fundraisers tonight- via pool
“… at the 2nd and 3rd events today POTUS seemed to say that Helmut Kohl (who died in 2017) was there with him at his first foreign trip as President talking about Jan 6th…Angela Merkel was the German chancellor in 2021.”
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 8, 2024
Heinrich also posted screenshots of pool reports on the second and third fundraisers Biden did Wednesday, as he told the same story again about attending “a G7 meeting with 7 heads of state in Europe.” He referred to Kohl allegedly being at the gathering in the UK in 2021 even though he had not been chancellor since 1998 and had died in 2017.
“First got elected president I went to a G7 meeting with 7 heads of state in Europe and I sat down and said, ‘America’s back.'” Biden said at the second event, according to the screenshots of the pool report.
“And president of France looked at me and said, ‘For how long?’”he continued. “And I never thought of it this way.”
“And then Helmut Kohl of Germany looked at me and said, ‘What would you say Mr President if you picked up the London Times tomorrow morning and learned there’s 1000 broken down the doors of the British parliament, killed some [inaudible] on the way in to deny the next prime minister to take office. And you think, what would we think?'” Biden said.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) February 8, 2024
According to the screenshots, Biden told the same story at the “third event,” where he again attributed comments to the dead German chancellor.
“It’s interesting to hear about the first meeting I attended as president of the United States, it was in Great Britain. I showed up… and I sat down and said, ‘America’s back’ and Macron looked at me and said, ‘For how long? How long?’ Not a joke,” Biden reportedly said, this time correctly referring to Emmanuel Macron as the French president.
“And with that [inaudible] Helmut Kohl said, ‘Joe what would you think if you picked up the phone and picked up the paper tomorrow and learned in the London Times on the front page that 1000 people stormed the parliament, broke down the doors of the House of Commons, and killed 2 bobbies in the process and trying to stop the election of a prime minister?'” Biden reportedly said, evidently forgetting that Angela Merkel was the German chancellor at the time.
“I thought about that. And I mean this sincerely, think about it. What would you think if another country, not nearly as powerful as us…” the 81-year-old had said.
The fresh gaffes brought another wave of commentary on social media.
If he’s going to keep telling that story you’d think they’d go over it with him
— TK-421 (@jgoodman9) February 8, 2024
What’s really amazing about this is he told this same story just 2 days ago and screwed it up then. 2 days later he makes the makes the same kind of mistake.
His senility is progressing really fast. Democrats are all about power and will never let him get crushed in an election
— Monger (@Mongrrr) February 8, 2024
His war planning does seem like he’s living in another era. He probably thinks we’re still in the cold war as well
— Sharon (@Punky725) February 8, 2024
Sad. It’s elder abuse now.
— David Benjamin (@thetoyman1) February 8, 2024
It’s crucial for public figures to ensure accuracy, especially when discussing historical events or figures. This slip-up might lead to some clarification from the administration to avoid any misunderstandings.
— ALISH ✨ (@aliishtweets) February 8, 2024
