Joe Biden’s terrible Debate night: Stumbles on race, pot, and domestic violence
Joe Biden has been slipping in the polls lately, and the fifth Democratic debate of the 2020 presidential primaries most likely did not help his standing.
The famously flub-prone former vice president made a number of stumbles at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Particularly noteworthy were his very awkward exchanges with senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California.
The former attacked Biden for coming out against legalized marijuana, suggesting he must have been “high” to take such a position (an applause line if there ever was one), while the latter stood dumfounded when Biden said he had the support of the only black woman elected to the Senate. Biden quickly corrected himself by clarifying that he meant the first black woman elected to the Senate as Harris waved her hands, laughing and saying, “I’m right here.”
Of course, it’s impossible to say whether tonight’s lackluster performance will have any lasting effect on Biden’s chances, but a roundup of some of his worst moments suggests his overall performance will not bode well.
Exhibit A: Booker versus Biden
Booker tells Biden that he thought he was high when he came out against federal legalization of marijuana. #Democraticdebate #demdebate pic.twitter.com/JyByEB64P2
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 21, 2019
Exhibit B: Harris versus Biden
Biden misspeaks and says he had support from “the only African-American woman that had ever been elected to the United States Senate,” before correcting that he meant “first.”
Harris’s reaction:pic.twitter.com/oIL1hcMfWS
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 21, 2019
Exhibit C: Biden versus Biden
Overheard in the #DemDebate crowd: The audience laughing as Joe Biden said “keep punching at it and punching at it” in an answer about violence against women.https://t.co/UlItvQ8K38 pic.twitter.com/LumieFj8HU
— POLITICO (@politico) November 21, 2019
Finally, if you needed anymore convincing: Here’s a hot take on Biden’s closing statements:
I’m still a little irritated at Biden’s “get up and do something!” closing statement. Did he forget the Women’s March? The incredible activism at the border? Where is the “woe is me” (as he put it) there?
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) November 21, 2019
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