The gaffe machine that is President Joe Biden let out another howler on Tuesday and the Big Three networks dutifully ignored it.
During a press conference on the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Biden recalled he had passed over “many, many times commuting” from Delaware “either on a train or by car.” There’s just one problem. The bridge was constructed just for car use and never had any rail lines.
ABC, CBS, NBC overlooked Biden’s botch — just like they have done for much of his administration and career.
For a brief moment it looked as if the networks were going to start covering Biden’s bloopers. When the President mixed up the leaders of Egypt in Mexico — in his press conference refuting special counsel Robert Hur’s claims about Biden’s memory loss — network shows actually aired the humiliating moment. However, they spent less than four minutes on it.
If any past Republican President made a similar flub — be it Donald Trump or George W. Bush — you can bet it would have gotten a lot more than that.
The following are eight brand new Biden gaffes and how the networks (mostly) refused to cover them:
Biden Recalls Taking the Train Over Francis Scott Key Bridge, It Never Had Rails
On March 26, the New York Post reported:
President Biden on Tuesday was fact-checked by social media users after claiming that he’s commuted over Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge “many, many times…either on a train or by car.”
Numerous people on X noted that the bridge, which fell into the Patapsco River early Tuesday morning after being struck by a massive cargo ship, has never had rail lines attached to it.
“At about 1:30 [a.m.], a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which I’ve been over many, many times commuting from the state of Delaware either on a train or by car,” Biden said in his first public remarks on the catastrophe.
“I’ve been to Baltimore Harbor many times,” he added. “And the bridge collapsed, sending several people and vehicles into the water — into the river.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Biden: “US Has Lowest Inflation of Any Country in America”
On March 14, India Today reported:
US President Joe Biden has made yet another gaffe while speaking about his administration’s efforts to tackle inflation in the country. Instead of saying that the US has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world, Biden said, “We have the lowest inflation rates of any country in America.”
“Wages are rising faster than prices and now we have among the lowest inflation rates of any country in America. And, still, we are fighting to lower it even further,” Biden said in his address in Milwaukee in the state of Wisconsin.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Biden Botches Name of Murder Victim Laken Riley and Confuses Sports Fans In the Process
On March 8, SI.com reported:
USC football coach Lincoln Riley has been a trending subject of conversation online in the hours since President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address, and after an apparent gaffe when delivering the speech to Congress. In a back-and-forth with Republican opposition over the contentious subject of illegal immigration into the country, the President mentioned the recent killing of Laken Riley, a woman who was killed while jogging on the Georgia campus, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela.
But in the process, the President appeared to bungle the name of the victim, which sounded instead like that of the Trojans head coach.
“Lincoln — Lincoln Riley,” Mr. Biden appeared to say, showing a button bearing Ms. Riley's name that Republicans passed out before the speech. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.” The President continued: “That’s right, but how many of the thousands of people are being killed by legals.” “To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden’s prepared remarks did not include any reference to the victim of the killing, so the exchange appeared to be improvised in the moment.
The remarks caused widespread reaction from the President's critics, including sports commentator Clay Travis.
“Joe Biden just confused Laken Riley, a college student killed by an illegal immigrant, with USC football coach Lincoln Riley,” he said on X/Twitter. “This just happened. Incredibly disrespectful.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds. (While the audio clip of President Biden saying the name was played on March 8 and March 11 editions of ABC’s Good Morning America and March 18 editions of NBC’s Today show and Nightly News no one on the broadcasts pointed out he mispronounced the name.)
Biden Invites Congress to Fly With Him to Moscow to Buy Prescription Drugs
On March 7, the Washington Examiner reported:
President Joe Biden slipped up during his State of the Union address, inviting the audience to fly with him to Moscow.
During his address, Biden touted his efforts to bring down prescription drug prices. To prove his point, he listed large foreign cities where drug prices are typically cheaper than in the United States. In a slip-up, he listed Moscow among these.
“I’m gonna get in trouble for saying this, but anybody wanna get in Air Force One with me and fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow — I mean, excuse me,” Biden said, prompting laughs. “Well, even Moscow, probably.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Three Gaffes In One! Biden Bumbles Through Pennsylvania Campaign Stump Speech
On March 9, FoxNews.com reported:
Just one day after President Biden delivered a State of the Union address many liberals said put to rest questions about his mental fitness, the president raised eyebrows with several gaffes in Pennsylvania.
Biden visited Strath Haven Middle School in Delaware County on Friday for his first swing state campaign stop after outlining his agenda to a joint session of Congress. There, he pitched his plans for a second White House term, promising to protect abortion rights, defending his economic record and calling for new gun control laws. He also made some unforced errors in his speech, which were ridiculed by Republicans.
“Pennsylvania, I have a message for you: Send me to Congress!” Biden shouted at one point, appearing to mix up the office he’s running for. He was a six-term U.S. senator representing Delaware in Congress before he became vice president in 2008.
Later in his remarks, Biden said, “we cut the deficit and we added more to the national debt than any president in his term in all of history, than under Donald Trump.”
Both comments were picked up by the Republican National Committee’s opposition research account and shared far and wide on X.
At another point, Biden mistakenly referred to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots as taking place on “July 6th,” and then corrected himself.
The gaffes illustrate how Biden, 81, must continue to fight off criticisms of his age and mental fitness from Republicans as the general election heats up.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Biden Mixes Up Mexico and Egypt
On March 8, The Hill reported:
President Biden confused the leaders of Mexico and Egypt during a press conference Thursday in which he forcefully rebutted a special counsel report that offered a harsh assessment of his memory and recall abilities.
Biden delivered remarks from the White House in which he sharply pushed back against conclusions from special counsel Robert Hur that the president presented during an interview with investigators as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” “My memory’s fine. Take a look at what I’ve done since I became president.…How did that happen? I guess I just forgot what was going on,” Biden said, striking a sarcastic tone.
But when he fielded a question about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Biden mistakenly referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the “president of Mexico.”
“I think, as you know, initially, the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate,” Biden said.
A clip of the comment quickly traveled around social media, where Republicans seized on it as the latest evidence that Biden had lost a step.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: This gaffe was actually covered but only for a total of 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
ABC = 1 minute, 51 seconds (Feb. 9 Good Morning America: 25 seconds; Feb. 11 This Week: 1 minute, 26 seconds)
CBS = 65 seconds (Feb. 9 CBS Evening News: 9 seconds, Feb. 9 CBS Mornings: 21 seconds; Feb. 10 CBS Saturday Morning: 22 seconds; Feb. 11 Face the Nation: 13 seconds)
NBC = 52 seconds (Feb. 9 NBC Nightly News: 22 seconds; Feb. 10 Today: 30 seconds)
The gaffes keep coming but the networks keep hiding them. If they were actually on Team Biden’s staff would the network coverage look any different?
