(SNews) – President Joe Biden went to a steamfitters union hall in Springfield, Virginia to talk about all the economic progress the country has made in his first term but delivered a flub-filled performance that went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons.
Biden started off by making a joke to mock his critics who think he is ‘stupid,’ but then proved them all right by repeatedly flubbing the name of a Congressman. Biden started with a joke:
“How are you all doing? Please, take a seat if you have one. (Laughs.) I said that, I said that — when I was seeking the nomination, I said, “Take a seat, everybody.” And there wasn’t a single chair in the place. And they said, ‘That Biden really is stupid. He doesn’t know…”
Then he called out for Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) but he called him Doug. He looked lost scanning the crowd for Doug until an audience member helped him out. He repeated the flub calling ‘Don’ Doug multiple times until finally catching himself.
Biden said: “Where’s Doug [Don]? The congressman. He’s around here somewhere.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Right here!
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Right here!
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, there you are. Doug [Don], thanks for the passport into town. (Applause.)
Doug [Don] and I have something in common. We both married way above our station. (Applause.) Way above our station.
Joe Biden makes a joke about people thinking he's stupid right before looking for Congressman "Doug" (Rep. Don Beyer). pic.twitter.com/T6Uw18J73S
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 26, 2023
I want to thank you all very much.
Look, good afternoon to the Steamfitters Local 602. (Applause.)
And President McManus — Mark, thank you. You’ve been a great friend for a long time. I appreciate it.
And, Megan, thank you for the introduction. I just got a chance to talk to Megan’s mom. I think I embarrassed her. I said, “Call your mom.” And so, we just talked to her mom, and her mom — I told her, as they say in southern Delaware, “She done a good job on this one.” (Laughs.) Thank you very much, Megan, for that introduction.
You’re learning what so many others have found — that a career in the trades means a lot of stability, but also challenging work and a chance to be part of a strong community.
You know, Congressman Beyer, you’ve — you’ve been doing a great job for this district, and you’re one of the best in the country. You really are. (Applause.) I don’t want to ruin his reputation, but we vote a lot alike. (Laughs.)
And thank you, County Chairman McKay, for joining us. And thanks for the passport into town. (Applause.)
Look — look, we’ve got a lot to do. We’ve achieved a lot because of all of you in this room and other rooms around the country. And — but I’d like to look ahead at what’s to come, what we’re going to be doing.
Just this morning, we got some very good news about the American economy.
Every three months, the economic outlook of America is laid out on an official report — a government report that — on the state of the economy. It came out today, this morning. And I’m not sure — and I mean it sincerely — the news could have been any better.
Economic growth is up, stronger than experts expected, at 2.9 percent we’re growing. (Applause.)
Jobs — jobs are the highest in Ameri- — number in — the highest in American history.
And wages are up, and they’re growing faster than inflation. Over the past six months, inflation has gone down every month and, God willing, will continue to do that.
Manufacturing jobs continue to go up, stronger than any time in the last 40 years.
And I don’t think it’s unfair to say that this is all evidence that the Biden economic plan, because of you all, is actually working. It’s working. (Applause.) It really is.
And there’s no question — by the way, I — if my mother were here, she would have had me say at the outset: I apologize for my back when I’m speaking to you all. I am sorry.
But, look, we’re moving in the right direction. Now we’ve got to protect those gains. We’ve got to protect those gains that our policies have generated — protect them from the MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives who are threatening to destroy this progress.
Look, you know, this ain’t your father’s Republican Party. This is a different breed of cat, as they say. You know, as hard as it is to believe, they want to pass legislation to do the following things. And I’ve been saying this — no one believed it until they started to introduce this stuff.
They want to raise your gas prices. They want to cut taxes for billionaires who pay virtually only 3 percent [8 percent] of their income now. Three percent [Eight percent] they pay. You know, a babysitter pays more than that.
He did it again! pic.twitter.com/6ZjxwGyIK6
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 26, 2023
And they want to impose a 30 — this one I love. They want to impose a 30 percent national sales tax on everything from food, clothing, school supplies, housing, cars — a whole deal. Thirty percent. No — oh, you think I’m joking. What I — if I did — if they didn’t see it — if you didn’t — if I didn’t see it, I wouldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t believe it.
And, folks, the reason they want to do that — they want to eliminate the income tax system. Because guess what? That’s the only way that millionaires and billionaires have to pay any taxes. But guess what will happen to all of you all if, in fact, 30 percent sales tax on everything you buy, from eggs to automobiles? Not a joke.
And one more. I’ve been saying this during the last campaign — in the off-year campaign. Doug knows — Don.
“Look, here’s the deal: They’re going to cut your Socia- — they want to cut your Social and Medicare. No, this is the God’s truth. It’s almost unbelievable,” he said.
Third time's the charm? pic.twitter.com/6BUntOvnpU
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 26, 2023
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