At a recent White House event, President Biden apparently mistook the occasion for a séance. He repeatedly called on the deceased Indiana Congresswoman Jackie Walorski to return from the dead. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to have her stand and be recognized – and scanning the audience (pictured above) — he muttered, “I was told she would be here.”
In fact, Walorski had died in a tragic auto accident in early August. There have been no reported sightings of the Congresswoman since – ethereally or otherwise.
This is not a small gaffe – like mispronouncing a name. The sudden and tragic death of a congressperson is BIG news around Washington – and elsewhere. It is the kind of thing you would remember – especially if you were President of the United States. The staff would be running into the Oval Office to inform the President. He would be ordering condolences to be communicated to the family.
But let us give Biden the benefit of the doubt – that he did not get the memo at the time of Walorski’s death. He was obviously briefed on the subject since it was to be included in his remarks. We know he was told because he said, “I was told she would be here.” At least he imagined he was told.
I assume they must have told him why Walorski was to be included as part of his presentation. Didn’t Biden wonder why he was “honoring” this relatively obscure member of the opposition party?
Apparently, references to Walorski were not included on Biden’s pocket que cards – the thing that has instructions for the Chief Executive as if he were a child. In case you forget, a revealed card showed instructions to enter the room, sit down in his chair, greet the guests, ask the president of the AFL/CIO a question (virtually), thank guests and leave the room – things any experienced politician can handle without notes.
Since Biden often pulls out these “que cards” when answering questions or not reading directly off the teleprompter, one wonders how Biden could not have had the information on a que card or the teleprompter. Maybe he just forgot to pull out the cue card. It is frightening to think that he might need a que card to remember to retrieve his que cards.
As in the case of all of Biden’s gaffes, it was up to the White House to perform political triage. In this case, it made matters worse.
In an attempt to explain – and make the Biden gaffe appear to have a modicum of rationality – White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was commissioned to be the voice of the spin. She claimed that it was just an impromptu comment because Biden had Walorski “on top of his head.” She is fibbing. It was not impromptu since Biden said the staff told him Walorski would be there.
Jean-Pierre became increasingly irritated as reporters continued to pursue a better explanation of the Biden gaffe. If Walorski was on his mind, how come he did not know she was dead? The deceased congresswoman apparently was not on his mind — or on his notes.
It was certainly a great embarrassment for the President. It might have been left at that if it were not for the pernicious questions of Biden’s mental acuity. This is not the sort of thing an average person would forget after hearing the news – and later being briefed and prepped by staff. Are we to believe that Biden was clueless as to why he was bringing up Walorski’s name after all that?
No matter how Jean-Pierre attempts to spin it, Biden’s gaffe appears to be a rather significant “senior moment.” This is not a slip-of-the-tongue. Biden obviously lost a major memory or events and what he was told. He was prepped to make it a planned part of his presentation. This is the sort of senior moment that makes friends and family cringe – or an entire nation.
Incidentally, at the same event, Biden referred to the audience “in the room.” The event was held outside in the Rose Garden on a right sunny day. Come on, man!
So, there ‘tis.