On Monday, former Vice President Joe Biden hit the stump for the first time since officially declaring his 2020 candidacy — and things didn’t go so smoothly. While attempting to present just a 27-minute speech to a crowd of supporters gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the candidate jumbled and slurred his words at least 12 times, a compilation video put together by Grabien Media highlights.
“I want to thank Rich Fritzgerald, the county executive for — the baladanny — the Alleghengy County executive for being here,” Biden opened the apparently difficult speech, the media outlet noted. The former VP later stumbled, “The country wasn’t built by Wall St. bankers, CEOs, and hudge — heh — and hedge fund managers.”
“Union workers, the UAW took extredable — cuts in their pensions and their future and the less to get GM working,” Biden sputtered.
The Democrat also slurred or fumbled the following words: “incredible,” “conquer,” “dignity,” “successful,” and “hospital,” among others.
At 76 years old, Biden has four years on President Donald Trump, and is one year shy of 77-year-old socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another declared Democrat candidate.
President Donald Trump, to much criticism, has sought to brand the Democrat as “Sleepy Joe” — instead of the low-hanging fruit nickname of “Creepy Joe.” But after the Pittsburgh fumbles, Trump’s branding of Biden is making more sense.
The president has also made it a point to underscore his own stamina in reaction to Biden’s “old” age.
When Trump was asked on Friday, “how old is too old to be president,” he responded, “Well, I think that — I just feel like a young man. I’m so young. I can’t believe it. I’m the youngest person. I am a young, vibrant man.”
“I look at Joe — I don’t know about him. I don’t know,” Trump continued.
“I would never say anyone is too old, but I know they’re all making me look very young, both in terms of age and I think in terms of energy. I think you people know that better than anybody,” the president added.
Kicking off his campaign on Thursday, Biden released a pre-recorded video which focused on President Trump allegedly defending white supremacists following the violent Charlottesville protest à la his “very fine people on both sides” comment.
“He said there were, quote, ‘Some very fine people on both sides,'” said Biden in the announcement video. “‘Very fine people on both sides’? With those words the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it, and in that moment I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any other I’d seen in my lifetime.”
However, as noted by The Washington Examiner, Trump’s “both sides” comment were taken out of context. “Trump made clear several times during the conference that he was referring specifically to those who had showed up to demonstrate against the statue’s removal and that he otherwise condemned the white supremacists,” the outlet pointed out.
Trump has yet to hit back over the charge, though he has repeatedly denied the claim that he ever backed white nationalists in the past.
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