Biden, 80, sparks more questions about his age and health by repeating the same story almost word for word TWICE in just a few minutes
- Biden was speaking Wednesday at a private fundraising event in New York.
- He shared – twice – how Charlottesville inspired him to run in 2020.
- He spoke mainly from prepared notes
Joe Biden repeated the same story twice within minutes at a private fundraising event in New York, sparking new concerns about his age.
It’s a story the 80-year-old president often tells about how the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and Donald Trump’s reaction, inspired him to run for the White House.
On August 11, 2017, white supremacists and neo-Nazis descended on the city and clashes continued the next day.
Biden, who was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, attended a fundraiser hosted by food security expert Amy Goldman Fowler at his home.
Joe Biden in New York on Wednesday as he repeated the same story twice
White nationalists participate in a torchlight march on the University of Virginia grounds before the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 11, 2017.
According to a White House report on the private event, he began speaking shortly after 4 p.m. in a living room in front of about two dozen people.
After briefly speaking about his economic record, he reflected on his decision to run for president and “spoke about the events in Charlottesville” as a reason for his campaign, according to the report.
“A few minutes later, he told the story again, almost word for word,” the report continued.
A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, commenting sarcastically on the report, said: “That’s absolutely correct. »
Steve Guest, a former spokesman for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, added: “It’s normal… totally normal.”
An Associated Press poll last month found that 77% of voters think Biden is too old to be effective for four more years. This included 69 percent of Democrats.
He has recently made a series of gaffes, including at the United Nations, where he bumped into a Brazilian flag and then apparently walked off stage without shaking hands with the Brazilian president.
