Gaffe-prone President Biden has raised concerns after his latest embarrassing blunder, which saw him repeatedly stumble over the word “kleptocracy” during a Thursday speech asking the US Congress for an additional $33 billion Ukraine aid package.
“Alarming,” Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton tweeted alongside a clip of the concerning slip-up.
Biden, 79, was talking about his administration’s plans to seize Russian assets when he ran into some linguistic trouble.
“We’re going to seize their yachts, their luxury homes, and other ill-begotten gains of Putin’s kleptoc- — yeah — kleptocracy and klep- — the guys who are the kleptocracies,” Biden told reporters with a self-deprecating chuckle.
“But these are bad guys.”
Moments earlier, Biden also mistakenly said that the US will “accommodate” the Russian oligarchs “and make sure we take their — take their ill-begotten gains.”
In the official transcript of Biden’s remarks that was later posted on the White House website, the word “accommodate” was stricken out to indicate that Biden actually meant to say “hold accountable.”
None of this escaped the attention of Biden’s detractors on social media.
“America deserves better,” Executive Director of advocacy group America Matters, Jim Hanson, tweeted.
Vernon Jones, who is running for Congress in Georgia, urged First Lady Jill Biden to get involved.
“@DrBiden, this has to end. Stop allowing your husband to be abused. For the love of your family and country, put his health first. Take President Biden home before it’s to[sic] late,” she tweeted, concerned about the leader’s cognitive health.
Sports journalist and commentator Clay Travis struck a similar tone in his reaction: “Joe Biden isn’t well. This is an embarrassment to our country and the world. He can barely read. Everyone can see the look in his eyes here, he’s lost.”
Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Press Secretary Emma Vaughn mockingly wrote: “Bold moves from the White House using ‘kleptocracy’ in a Biden speech,” hinting at the president’s penchant for gaffes in his public remarks.
“Biden’s brain just broke, again,” right-wing news site also TownHall.com tweeted.
However, in response to the avalanche of worried and snarky comments, some users pointed out that Biden struggled with a severe stutter in his youth.
With Post Wires
