While he doesn’t generate nearly as many controversies as his predecessor, President Joe Biden has proven to be a very divisive figure. Some proponents of Biden’s administration see him as a stabilizing force as he guides the country. Opponents blame Biden for everything from illegal immigration to gas prices. And some just like to joke about “Dark Brandon,” a kind of fictionalized, meme-friendly version of Joe Biden.
Why does Biden inspire so many different reactions? Well, despite his qualities as both a person and a president, Biden does something downright weird on the public stage every time you turn around. Don’t believe it? Here are the most notorious times Joe Biden was caught being weird!
The “you ain’t Black” controversy
Democrats in general often rely heavily on support from Black voters. As Barack Obama’s former vice president, Joe Biden was in a unique position to court the Black vote. And he nearly screwed it up in a single, insane moment.
This happened when Biden gave a radio interview to Charlamagne Tha God. As the host patiently told the presidential candidate, “It’s a long way until November” and “We got more questions” when it came to what Biden would do to help Black people.
This caused Biden to infamously fire back with “You got more questions? Well, I’m telling you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.” Predictably, this outburst brought heavy criticism from both sides of the political aisle.
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Fat or facts?
Joe Biden gets riled up by questions from other people fairly often. For example, during a 2019 campaign stop in Iowa, Merle Gorman asked Biden about his son, Hunter, landing an easy job with the scandalous Ukrainian company Burisma. This prompted Biden to suddenly exclaim the other man was a “damn liar” before challenging the larger man to a series of contests. “And by the way, I’m not sedentary,” he said. “Let’s do push-ups together, man, let’s run, let’s do whatever you want to do. Let’s take an IQ test, all right?
As Biden got more fired up, he blurted out “Look, look, fat, look. Here’s the deal.” Later, some claimed that Biden said “facts” rather than “fat,” but “fat” would line up with criticisms of the man’s weight.
Poor kids, poor phrasing
Joe Biden has had a long history of speaking gaffes and racial gaffes. Sometimes, they come together in a spectacular way. And that’s what happened in 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Biden was speaking to a group of activists, most of whom were minorities. The presidential candidate started out strong by saying “We should challenge students in these schools to have Advanced Placement programs.” He then continued and, to everyone’s horror, said “We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor you can not do it,” Biden went on. “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”
Trust us: Biden’s STILL living that one down!
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Really clapping things up
The moment Jeb Bush begged an audience to “please clap” for him was basically the end of his political career. And Joe Biden had a similar moment, though it did nothing to stall his political ambitions.
Back in 2016, Biden was speaking to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. When the group gave a lukewarm response to a prompt for applause, Biden suddenly said, “Clap for that, you stupid bastards.” When this didn’t win the crowd over, he later commented, “Man, you are a dull bunch.”
Overall, Biden had a very good visit with these troops. But at this moment, he needlessly gave a sound bite that would be repeatedly used against him.
Who’s the president, again?
On occasion, Joe Biden ends up accidentally feeding the conspiracy theories surrounding his presidency. For example, many kooky conspiracists often say that Kamala Harris is serving as the real president while Biden is (somehow) her puppet.
In March 2021, Biden really excited these conspiracy theorists when giving a White House speech about the COVID-19 vaccines. At one point, Biden called Kamala “President Harris.” It was obviously a slip-up on Biden’s part, but some tinfoil hat-wearing people out there thought Biden was admitting this conspiracy is actually correct about the power behind the power.
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Weird lies about youthful protesting
Being a politician is all about changing how people perceive you. For example, many see Biden as a straight arrow “middle of the road” president who won’t disrupt things too much. Sometimes, though, Biden likes to pretend he’s secretly an unpredictable maverick.
In a speech in early 2021, Biden appeared to reminisce about his Civil Rights-era protesting. “It seems like yesterday the first time I got arrested,” he said. Just one problem: Biden was never arrested for protesting, but he’s still tried to present himself as having a history of youthful protest for decades.
Dunking on Doocey
There is always a fine line when it comes to Joe Biden acting weird and Joe Biden acting human. And we got to see Biden try to walk that line when he ended up dunking on Peter Doocey via a hot mic.
In early 2022, Doocey asked what was likely meant to be a “gotcha” question. “Do you think inflation is a political liability?” Biden was smiling for the sake of the cameras and apparently didn’t realize his mic was active when he said “No, it’s a great asset — more inflation. What a stupid son of a bitch.”
Predictably, some saw this as a shocking violation of presidential decorum. Others cheered Biden for knocking down Doocey and his dubious journalism a few pegs.
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Honor vs. horror
Like many of us, Joe Biden occasionally says the wrong word when he is speaking. Unlike most of us, though, Biden tends to do so while the entire world is watching.
In July of 2022, Biden gave a speech as he was touring Israel. During the speech, he spoke of how important it is to “continue — which we must do every, every day — continue to bear witness, to keep alive the truth and honor of the Holocaust.”
He quickly corrected himself, and he had meant to say “horror of the Holocaust.” But calling the Holocaust an “honor,” even for a moment, is something the world will not soon forget.