- Biden made the comment while presenting the Commander in Chief trophy.
- Army beat Navy football in December; Coach Jeff Monken was nearby.
President Joe Biden forgot to study his playbook when he presented a football trophy to the Army team on Monday and asked, “Where are you?” to the coach that he was a few meters away.
“We finally have Coach Jeff Monken…back at the White House…Where is he, Coach?” the president asked, as he introduced prominent figures at the top of an event in which the trophy was presented to the commander in chief.
The coach he was welcoming was standing to the president’s right, having entered the East Room of the White House along with his victorious team.
The bizarre comment came after Biden, 81, acknowledged Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Secretary Charles Q. Brown, Jr. in remarks he read from a pair of teleprompters.
‘Where are you, coach?’ President Biden asked as he presented the Commander in Chief Trophy to the Army Black Knights of the United States Military Academy. Coach Jeff Monken was nearby.
Biden often offers variations of the line when greeting lawmakers or VIPs during his remarks, but that usually happens when they are standing in the middle of a crowd or audience he is addressing.
He also acknowledged House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), correcting his name after first calling him ‘Stanford.’
It came at an event in which he praised the team for their “toughness, tenacity, camaraderie and responsibility” on and off the field.
The Army Black Knights won the trophy during their annual Army-Navy Game, defeating the Midshipmen 17-11 in December in a bitter and historic rivalry.
Biden said he was “very proud” of the team, and “not just for the wins, not just for those forced turnovers,” but for putting on another uniform, representing the entire country.”
Biden received an Army T-shirt with the number ’46’ written on it.
The president returned to the White House from his home in Wilmington on Monday.
Biden applauded the team’s victories over rival Air Force and Navy during a season in which it finished 6-6. It was the Army’s fourth trophy in the last seven years.
“We are here today to celebrate a tough team and a historic football program,” the president said.