President Biden got his State of the Union address off the bat on Tuesday night when he incorrectly referred to his party’s majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, as the “minority leader.”
And the hits just keep coming, sometimes even the laughs from across the aisle.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer, another, uh, you know, another term as Senate minority leader,” the 80-year-old president said a few minutes into his 72-minute speech.
Schumer, 72, has been the Senate majority leader since January 2021.
“You know, I think, you know, you have a slightly larger majority this time, Mr. Leader. You know, majority leader, but much larger,” Biden tried to correct himself. After the gaffe gave more shock.
It wasn’t the only awkward moment of the night.
The president later appeared to forget the Ukrainian ambassador’s name when he told him to “stand up so we can all see you.”
Biden awkwardly drew attention to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, but did not know her name, which was not spelled out in his speech.
“Tonight, we are once again joined by Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. She represents not only her nation, but the courage of her people,” Biden said.
“Ambassador… Our Ambassador is here…. We are united in support of your country. Will you stand up so we can all see you? We will stand by you as long as it takes,” he added, never mentioning his name.
The commander-in-chief also came up short after GOP members of Congress made the odd suggestion that oil production could be phased out — after only another decade.
During a story that did not appear in the White House release of his prepared remarks, Biden claimed that energy executives had told him they were reluctant to increase domestic oil production because of fears the federal government would It will shut down refineries and oil wells.
Biden tried to allay their concerns by telling them: “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) along with other GOP members could be seen laughing behind Biden over the comment.
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