US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a celebration of the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Rose Garden at the White House on September 28, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Biden asked if late Rep. Jackie Walorski was in attendance during a Wednesday press conference.
“Jackie, are you here?” Biden said, referring to an Indiana Republican you died in August.
Republicans are demanding apologies, questioning Biden’s awareness and dunking on White House aides.
Republicans lit into President Joe Biden awkwardly talking about late Rep. Jackie Walorski as if she were still alive on Wednesday, going after the 79-year-old president and his press staff on social media for the rhetorical stumble.
Biden, who keeps saying he plans to run again in 2024, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who dug in on defending Biden’s behavior by repeating like a mantra that Walorski was simply “top of mind,” were taken to task about the bizarre episode by political opponents all around the country.
—Rep. David Schweikert (@RepDavid) September 28, 2022
“The White House Press Secretary completely failed to defend Biden’s unacceptable comments about my late friend and colleague Jackie Walorski,” Republican Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona fumed online, adding that Biden “should personally apologize to her family and loved ones immediately.”
GOP House hopeful Jennifer-Ruth Green, who is running to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, went the totally disappointed route.
—Jennifer-Ruth Green (@JenRuthGreen) September 28, 2022
“I struggle with the lack of awareness here,” Green wrote on Twitter about the odd back-and-forth regarding Walorski’s posthumous treatment.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas didn’t bother wading into the he said-she said, training his sights directly on the administration in general.
—Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 28, 2022
“To be fair, this is no less truthful than everything else from this White House,” the likely 2024 presidential contender wrote on Twitter.
The anticipated pile-on comes on the heels of GOP claims that Biden is “diminished” and unable to do the job of president, even as Biden’s allies insist he is capable as ever.
A recent poll conducted as part of Insider’s “Red, White, and Gray” project — which explores the costs, benefits, and dangers of life in a democracy helmed by those of advanced age — showed that a majority of respondents consider Biden and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential contender Donald Trump, who is 76, to be too old to serve again.