US President Joe Biden has made so many mistakes in his public statements this year alone that his aides have been forced to correct him at least 148 times, an analysis of White House transcripts has shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The review, conducted by conservative news website the Daily Caller and released on Monday, found that Biden has averaged more than one gaffe (1.3) per day in 2024. The analysis spanned 118 statements, speeches, and press encounters for which White House transcripts were issued and subsequently corrected by staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Revisions have ranged from correcting Biden\u2019s factual errors to adding words that he should have included, to changing the meaning of his comments entirely, the Daily Caller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, when Biden said \u201cevery American\u201d voted against his American Rescue Plan, he should have said \u201cevery Republican.\u201d In another case, he said a threat to democracy must be \u201cdefended,\u201d when the correct word was \u201cdefeated.\u201d The transcript for just one speech \u2013 Biden\u2019s State of the Union address last month \u2013 had 13 corrections noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Factual errors included claims that 720 million Americans \u2013 more than double the nation\u2019s population \u2013 received Covid-19 vaccines. And when Biden referred to a Georgia woman who was killed by an illegal migrant, amid pressure from Republicans to \u201csay her name,\u201d he called her \u201cLincoln\u201d rather than her correct name, Laken. He also referred to seniors with \u201cdisabilities\u201d as seniors with \u201cdiabetes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Daily Caller said it didn\u2019t count many corrections that didn\u2019t alter the meaning of Biden\u2019s remarks, such as adding an \u2018s\u2019 at the end of a noun or adding a word that was necessary for clarity. It also didn\u2019t include alternations that weren\u2019t clearly marked in the transcripts or mistakes that were apparently covered up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For instance, while giving a speech last week at a conference in Washington, Biden apparently read a teleprompter instruction out loud. \u201cImagine what we could do next,\u201d he said, urging voters to reelect him in November. \u201cFour more years, pause.\u201d The original White House transcript did not include the word \u201cpause,\u201d the Daily Caller said. It was later updated to include the gaffe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden\u2019s frequent mental stumbles have raised questions about his fitness for office as he seeks a second four-year term. He already ranks as the oldest president in American history at 81, and he would be 86 at the end of a second term. A New York Times poll released last month showed that 72% of US voters, including over half of Democrats, agreed that Biden is too old to be an effective president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n