They went the whole nine yards with this one.
White House officials went into cleanup mode after President Biden delivered a gaffe-riddled speech to the NAACP in Detroit Sunday — making a whopping nine corrections to the formal transcript.
The changes fixed both trips of Biden’s tongue — such as calling Capitol rioters “irrectionists” — and flagrant retellings of history, like claiming he was still vice president during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The official transcript, released Monday, made no bones about the errors, with strikethroughs of Biden’s mistakes and the corrected comments included in brackets.
The 81-year-old’s address to the 69th annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner was part of an outreach effort to black Americans as polls show support for him softening in the demographic.
Vice president during the pandemic
During his opening, Biden conveyed his “love” for Detroit, before slipping up and suggesting he was the vice president during the outbreak of COVID-19.
“And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic [recession], and what happened was Barack said to me, ‘Go to Detroit and help fix it,’” the transcript said.
Honored to receive this organization
Part of the impetus for Biden’s speech was to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Detroit branch of the NAACP, but he mangled that part during his acceptance.
“Folks, I’m humbled to receive this organization [award], which defines the character and consequence of what we do,” Biden said.
‘Truly inspiresing’
Biden’s swing through Detroit came on the heels of his commencement address at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, an all-male historically black institution that bestowed him with an honorary degree.
“It was truly inspiresing [inspiring]: over 400 young Black [sic] men who will do extraordinary things,” the transcript said.
$800,000 in healthcare premium savings
Back when Democrats had control of Congress, Biden was able to push through an expansion of subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. The administration estimates that can save families up to $800 annually, but Biden mangled it and said $800,000.
“I protected and expanded the Affordable Care Act, saving millions of families $800,000 in prem- — $8,000 [$800] in — a year in premiums,” the president said.
Fighting landlords who keep rents down
While touting efforts to lower the cost of living, the president inadvertently claimed to be fighting unscrupulous landlords who are trying to keep rents down.
“We’re cracking down on corporate landlords who [to] keep rents down,” Biden said.
Black women ‘have nearly three times more likely to die’
In another verbal flub, Biden swapped in the word “have” when he meant to say “are.”
“He [Trump] not only denies reproductive freedom but worsens the mortality rate for Black [sic] moms, who have [are] nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than a white woman,” the president declared.
‘Irrectionists’
Some politicians have mangled the word “insurrection,” (which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) once called an “erection”) but Biden had a unique fumble on that front.
“He [Trump] calls the irrectionists [insurrectionists] who stormed Capitol Hill ‘patriots.’ He says, if re-elected, he wants, quote, ‘every’ one of them pardoned,” the transcript noted.
‘Bloodshed’
Back in March, former President Donald Trump warned there would be a “bloodbath” in the auto industry if he loses the 2024 election. Biden misquoted him as saying “bloodshed.”
“But that’s not Donald Trump. Donald Trump has said, if he loses again in November, there will be, quote, ‘bloodshed‘ [‘bloodbath’]. What in God’s name are we talking about here?” Biden said, according to the transcript.
NAAC
And to cap things off, Biden butchered the very name of the organization to which he was speaking.
“Earlier this month, I posthumously awarded Medgar Evers the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor. His spirit endures. The NAAC [NAACP] spirit endures,” the transcript said.
The commander-in-chief, who has been open about growing up with a stutter, has been no stranger to rhetorical doozies during some of his public outings.
Between the start of the year and late last month, the White House made at least 148 adjustments to transcripts of his remarks, according to an analysis by the Daily Caller.
Ahead of Biden’s Nov. 5 rematch with Trump, the issue of age has loomed large. Biden is already the oldest president in US history and would be 86 at the end of a second four-year term.
Both Trump and Biden are slated to square off in a CNN-hosted debate on June 27 in Atlanta.
