Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to be his own worst enemy as questions grow over whether he’s still sharp enough to be commander in chief.
His candidacy has been marked by one gaffe after another, as Biden stumbles and flubs, getting confused on dates and forgetting where he is. There’s even a clip where Biden, who leads in the polls for the 2020 Democratic nomination, appears to forget Barack Obama’s name.
Joe Biden appears to forget Barack Obama’s name on the campaign trail
Does anyone else find it interesting:
The same people who want to remove Trump from office for being mentally unstable
…Want to elect this man president
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 29, 2019
But a 2008 war story Biden told last week while campaigning in New Hampshire tops Hillary Clinton’s false claim about landing under sniper fire in Bosnia, as he got almost every detail wrong.
Making matters even worse, the 76-year-old candidate said, “This is the God’s truth. My word as a Biden.”
Biden said a 4-star general asked him to go to Kunar, a province in Afghanistan, while he was serving as vice president. The reason being, according to him, to award a Silver Star medal to a Navy captain who had rappelled a 60-foot ravine while under fire to retrieve the body of a fallen comrade.
Biden said he had been told that the trip was too dangerous and claimed that he told them: “We can lose a vice president, we can’t lose many more of these kids.”
He went on to tell the room that the captain was reluctant to take the award, quoting the service member as saying, “Sir, I don’t want the damn thing!” Adding, “Do not pin it on me, Sir! Please, Sir. Do not do that! He died. He died!”
Turns out, Biden was a U.S. senator when he went to Afghanistan, and it was an Army Specialist who performed the heroic rescue. That soldier, Kyle J. White, received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama, not Biden — he graciously accepted the medal.
“In the space of three minutes, Biden got the time period, the location, the heroic act, the type of medal, the military branch and the rank of the recipient wrong, as well as his own role in the ceremony,” the Washington Post reported.
As vice president, Biden did pin a medal on a reluctant soldier, Army Staff Sgt. Chad Workman, in 2011. Workman didn’t believe he deserved the award. He also witnessed Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez give a Bronze Star for valor to Spec. Miles Foltz during the 2008 trip — Foltz rescued a wounded soldier while receiving fire from the Taliban.
Biden didn’t help matters when confronted about the inaccuracies.
“I was making the point how courageous these people are, how incredible they are, this generation of warriors, these fallen angels we’ve lost,” he told the Post. “I don’t know what the problem is. What is it that I said wrong?”
As the paper reported, Biden has been telling various versions of the false story for years, and he told the crowd he calls the Defense Department every morning to learn how many women and men have been killed in Afghanistan or Iraq. He claim to have gone to Afghanistan “over 30 times,” though the accurate figure is 21.
Speaking to The Post and Courier Thursday, Biden commented on the Washington Post article.
“I don’t understand what they’re talking about,” Biden told the newspaper. “But the central point is it was absolutely accurate what I said. He refused the medal. I put it on him, he said, ‘Don’t do that to me, sir. He died. He died.”
Asked about concerns some people have about his age, the former vice president said the “essence” of the story is what’s important, seemingly still not grasping that he was conflating several events into one.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” he said. “The essence — that there’s anything I said about that that wasn’t the essence of the story. The story was that he refused the medal because the fella he tried to save and risked his life saving died. That’s the beginning, middle and end. The rest of you guys can take it and do what you want with it.”
The ridicule over the latest blunder was unmerciful.
Conservative Mark Steyn appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and gave a hilarious take on Biden’s recollection that left Tucker Carlson “drooling” on himself.
“It was 20 minutes before dawn on D-Day and this 9-star general says to me, ‘Mr. President, it’s too dangerous for you to go in there…'”@MarkSteynOnline mocks @JoeBiden on @TuckerCarlson after Biden was called out for false war story on the campaign trail. pic.twitter.com/KPBhKYMy66
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 30, 2019
As Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, a decorated former Navy SEAL, stated: “And that’s how you get Elizabeth Warren. Congratulations Democrats.”
And that’s how you get Elizabeth Warren. Congratulations Democrats.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 29, 2019
Here’s a sampling of other responses from Twitter:
I think @JoeBiden is in a race with @BWilliams for the greatest exaggerated war story…https://t.co/HWk69QZKp1
— Tony Shaffer (@T_S_P_O_O_K_Y) August 30, 2019
Not to be outdone by Hillary’s made-up sniper fire in Bosnia, Joe Biden has been telling voters a phony war story.
Biden’s barely been in the race for 4 months and his campaign is already a mess. https://t.co/QZmMPYbIG5
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) August 30, 2019
Not to be outdone by Hillary’s made-up sniper fire in Bosnia, Joe Biden has been telling voters a phony war story.
Biden’s barely been in the race for 4 months and his campaign is already a mess. https://t.co/QZmMPYbIG5
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) August 30, 2019
I like Biden, but i don’t think he is fit to be President. Why do you want another old dude that more often than not doesnt make sense?! At least he is a democrat…
— Camila Rodrigues (@cmpcr) August 29, 2019
Unless the “military hero” he praised in his story is #TulsiGabbard then he should be taken away to a home, and whoever is driving his senile campaign should be arrested for #ElderAbuse pic.twitter.com/CktGOhrp0O
— Pansophism (@pansophism) August 29, 2019
Pretty obvious that the mainstream media has tossed Joe to the scrap heap.
— CarlBonJovi (@CarlBonJovi) August 29, 2019
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