President Biden asked for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski to identify herself at a Washington event Wednesday, forgetting that the Indiana Republican died in a car crash last month.
Biden made the embarrassing error while thanking bipartisan members of Congress at a nutrition event near the White House.
“I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected officials like Representative [Jim] McGovern, Senator [Mike] Braun, Senator [Cory] Booker, Representative Jackie — are you here? Where’s Jackie? — I think she was going to be here,” the president said.
Reporter: "The confusing part is why, if she and the family is top of mind, does the president think that she's living and in the room?"
KJP: "I don't find that confusing."
Reporter: "I have John Lennon top of mind just about every day but I'm not looking around for him." pic.twitter.com/VUrXCmpcgl
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 28, 2022
Biden, 79, is the oldest-ever president and his mental acuity is regularly questioned by his political foes — though Biden and his defenders have brushed off the concerns by saying the commander-in-chief is simply prone to gaffes.
https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1575195045036056576?s=20&t=YWku_VQFjhTFrrcgI2GoRA
The White House released a statement from the president mourning Walorski on Aug. 3 after she perished in an Indiana wreck alongside her press secretary, Emma Thomson, and St. Joseph County Republican Party chairman Zachery Potts.
The tragedy occurred when Walorski’s vehicle, driven by Potts, crossed the median of Indiana State Road 19 and hit another car driven by 56-year-old Edith Schmucker, who also died.
“Jill and I are shocked and saddened by the death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana along with two members of her staff in a car accident today in Indiana,” Biden said at the time.
President Biden seems to forget that Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) died in a car crash in August, seeking her out in the audience:
"Jackie, are you here? Where's Jackie? She must not be here." pic.twitter.com/inzKDHrPK7
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2022
“Born in her beloved South Bend as the daughter of a meat-cutter and firefighter, she spent a lifetime serving the community that she grew up in — as a journalist, a nonprofit director, a state legislator, and eventually as a Member of Congress for the past nine and a half years,” he said.
“We may have represented different parties and disagreed on many issues, but she was respected by members of both parties for her work on the House Ways and Means Committee on which she served,” Biden said. “She also served as co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus, and my team and I appreciated her partnership as we plan for a historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this fall that will be marked by her deep care for the needs of rural America.”
The flag atop the White House was also flown at half-staff for two days after Walorski’s death.
Although Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, allege that Biden is in mental decline, Democrats note that he’s struggled with public misstatements for decades.
“I am a gaffe machine,” Biden conceded in 2018. “But my God, what a wonderful thing compared to a guy who can’t tell the truth.”
Biden’s record of forehead-slapping statements includes asking Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham to stand up during a 2008 campaign event — before realizing too late that Graham was in a wheelchair.
“Stand up, Chuck, let them see you,” Biden said. “Oh — God love you, what am I talking about? I tell you what, you’re making everyone else stand up, though, pal.”
