During a moment brimming with comedic potential, President Joe Biden only provided us with a portion of satisfaction.
During his appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in San Francisco on Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden pondered whether or not he should attempt to pronounce something that one of his speechwriters had written for over ten seconds while gazing at his teleprompter and chatting to himself.
However, he ultimately surrendered. “I’m not gonna even try,” Biden declared in an almost inaudible tone.
The APEC audience chuckled at that moment, presumably to alleviate some of their humiliation.
“It’s better not to try and not mispronounce than try and mispronounce,” Biden said, sounding like Yogi Berra in an AFLAC commercial.
Before ultimately abandoning the mission, Biden appeared poised to attempt the pronunciation in the fraught moments preceding his departure.
“Leading j — leading tech companies … like Anthropic … and — I’m gonna mispronounce,” he said before giving up.
On Thursday, RNC Research published a 22-second clip of Biden’s gallant endeavor on X, formerly Twitter.
“Biden’s brain malfunctions in real time: ‘I’m gonna mispronounce. I’m not gonna even try,’” an accompanying post read.
Biden's brain malfunctions in real time: "I'm gonna mispronounce. I'm not gonna even try." pic.twitter.com/CdqQRvarP9
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 16, 2023
Scott Budman of NBC, as expected, approached Biden with seriousness.
“President Biden to the APEC CEO Summit: ‘It’s never been a good bet to bet against America. Because of us, there’s been peace in the Pacific Region.’ Says he will mispronounce ‘Anthropic,’ (crowd laughs) but talks up AI growth here,” Budman posted Thursday.
#New: President Biden to the APEC CEO Summit:
“It’s never been a good bet to bet against America. Because of us, there’s been peace in the Pacific Region.”Says he will mispronounce “Anthropic,” (crowd laughs) but talks up AI growth here. pic.twitter.com/hOLkX9ZRR7
— scott budman (@scottbudman) November 16, 2023
Biden did not, of course, claim that he would incorrectly enunciate “Anthropic.” Indeed, he uttered that word tentatively, as if uncertain of its meaning. Following that, he chose not to attempt to articulate the subsequent response using the teleprompter. It remains uncertain whether Budman committed an honest error or if his actions were motivated by a deep-seated tendency to obscure the president’s obvious flaws.
In any case, the declining poll numbers for Biden indicate that an increasing number of individuals have acknowledged his shortcomings, or have ceased to feign otherwise.
Occasional guilty-gumpin’ moments ensue when I consider ridiculing an octogenarian who manifestly is experiencing cognitive decline. I then recollect that this individual and his family have amassed wealth at the expense of the public. Furthermore, I recollect his attempts to undermine former President Donald Trump and his remarks regarding Trump’s supporters. There is nothing that consoles the conscience more than recalling the abhorrent persona that Biden truly embodies.
Consequently, I feel as though I have missed out on a genuine comedic moment. The silence and murmured words at least provided us with something. However, consider the scenario in which he attempted to articulate the subsequent word. A plethora of new memes could have been generated, or even better, additional material for a Trump campaign advertisement.