Joe Biden's worst gaffes of all time: From awkward mid-speech moments to bizarre mix-ups

Joe Biden's worst gaffes of all time: From snapping at grieving father to forgetting colleague's death

WASHINGTON, DC: At 81, Joe Biden is the oldest sitting US president, four years older than Ronald Reagan. Biden was elected in 2020 and is running for re-election in 2024, but his tenure has been marked by some embarrassing gaffes. In 2022, he acknowledged, “Every once in a while, I make a mistake. Like, well, once a speech.” Despite this admission, Biden’s verbal slip-ups have caused White House officials plenty of headaches. Here are Biden’s nine most baffling gaffes - from contentious interactions with grieving fathers to his seeming ignorance of a congresswoman’s high-profile death.

1. Confusing Mexico with Egypt

During a press conference following the release of the report by Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur on February 8, 2024, Joe Biden took issue with being described as an "elderly man with a poor memory," particularly the claim he couldn't remember the year his son Beau passed away. However, Biden's response was marred by a verbal slip-up in the same press conference, where he appeared to confuse Egypt with Mexico while discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict. “The president of Mexico did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in,” he said. “I talked to him. I convinced to open the gate.”

2. Ground Zero misstep

During a gaffe on September 11, 2023, Joe Biden offended many by commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Alaska instead of at a specific site. He further erred by falsely claiming to have visited Ground Zero on September 12, 2001. Addressing US troops in Anchorage, he stated, "Ground Zero in New York — I remember standing there the next day and looking at the building. And I felt like I was looking through the gates of hell." However, his own memoir, which placed him in Washington DC, contradicted this. As a result, White House officials explained that he was referring to a visit he made with a group of senators nine days later.

3. Rail expansion fumble

Known for his love of trains, Joe Biden unveiled ambitious plans for US rail expansion. At a League of Conservation Voters gathering on June 15, 2023, he declared intentions to construct a railroad "from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean." This followed an earlier statement to Rishi Sunak about plans for a transcontinental railroad from the Pacific to the Atlantic, then to the Indian Ocean. However, White House officials later claimed that he referred to initiatives like the Lobito Corridor, aimed at linking countries in Africa to the Indian Ocean.

4. ‘God save the Queen’

That same month, in an unexpected turn during a speech on gun control at the National Safer Communities Summit in Connecticut, President Biden concluded with the declaration, “God save the Queen, man.” This peculiar statement sparked confusion and raised eyebrows, leaving observers questioning whether he was referring to Queen Elizabeth, who died in September 2022, or to Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles, who had recently been crowned in a grand ceremony in London. Neither of the royals was present in Connecticut at the time of Biden's speech. In response to the baffling remark, the White House attempted to clarify, attributing it to Biden merely "commenting to someone in the crowd."

5. Asking for dead congresswoman

On September 28, 2022, during a White House conference, Joe Biden mistakenly asked for Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, who had died in a car accident eight weeks earlier. Despite releasing a statement mourning her death, Biden inquired about her presence. “Representative Jackie — are you here? Where’s Jackie? I think she was going to be here," he asked from the podium. This prompted Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to defend him by claiming she was "top of mind" for him. Jackie's brother subsequently told the New York Post, “Bless his heart for trying. He’s forgetful. I don’t think anybody would look at the things that he’s done and said and say that his mind is as sharp as it used to be."

6. Snapping at a grieving father

During a White House celebration of a new gun-control law on July 11, 2022, Joe Biden's speech was marred by gaffes. In a particularly striking moment, he shouted at Manuel Oliver, a grieving father who lost his 17-year-old son in the February 14, 2018, massacre at a Florida high school. As Oliver heckled the President for not doing enough to curb gun crime, Biden snapped, “Sit down! You’ll hear what I have to say." Minutes later, Biden made another blunder when he confused the years while describing the tragic attack that claimed Oliver’s child. He stated, “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida — 1918, 17 dead, 17 injured."

7. Shaking hands with thin air

In April 2022, following a nearly 40-minute speech at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, Joe Biden extended his hand in a handshake gesture toward stage right. However, there was no one else on stage, and no one from the applauding crowd approached the president to reciprocate the gesture, as seen in footage of the event. Earlier, Biden had engaged in real handshakes with attendees, notably with Malcolm Hawkins, an electrical engineering student who introduced him at the beginning of the speech. 

8. 'That fella down under'

During a virtual ceremony on September 15, 2021, Joe Biden inadvertently soured the mood of a new defense pact between the UK, Australia, and the US when he failed to recall the name of Australia's then-leader. The ceremony unveiled the AUKUS military initiative, aimed at supplying Australia with nuclear submarines. While addressing the leaders, Biden correctly identified UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying, “Thank you, Boris.” However, when it came to acknowledging Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, Biden stumbled, stating, “And I want to thank, er … that fella down under. Thank you very much, pal. Appreciate it, Mr Prime Minister.” This oversight left many Australians feeling slighted, with one commentator remarking, “Our cultural cringe just tripled."

9. Confusing world leaders with dead predecessors

Joe Biden’s decades of political experience seemed to confuse him as he twice misidentified current world leaders as their predecessors. In a speech at a rally in Las Vegas, he mistakenly referred to French President Emmanuel Macron as Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996. Biden recounted a G7 meeting in Cornwall in June 2021, stating, “Mitterrand from Germany – I mean, from France – looked at me and said, ‘You know, what... why… how long you back for?” Then, speaking in New York a few days later, Biden claimed to have discussed the Capitol riot with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017. Angela Merkel was the Chancellor at the time of the riot.