Joe Biden stutters his way through farcical CNN show, gets mocked for constantly referring to 'the thing'
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was at his oratorical worst last Thursday, April 16, when he struggled to find the right words to convey how the White House should make use of the World War II policies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden, who is the only candidate in the race now from the Democratic camp after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out earlier this month, stumbled to put together his thoughts about President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan to reopen the country.
The pandemic has left the US as the worst-hit nation in the world with 759,000 affected and more than 40,000 dead which is almost a quarter of the global death toll of 165,000 plus. It has also battered the nation economically with at least 22 million people losing their jobs in the middle of a widespread lockdown.
Biden, who was speaking to Anderson Cooper and Dr Sanjay Gupta, was critical of the lack of testing that has earned the Trump administration a lot of criticism.
"You know, there's a uh, during World War II, uh, you know, where Roosevelt came up with a thing uh, that uh, you know, was totally different than a, than the, the, it's called, he called it the, you know, the World War II, he had the war the War Production Board," the 77-year-old former vice president said.
"I don't know why we don't set up something like a pandemic production board," he added.
Donald Trump Junior mocks Biden
The veteran leader seemed to say that the White House should follow the precedent that was set by war-time President Franklin D Roosevelt during the 1940s by coordinating manufacturing efforts for the war.
This is not the first time that Biden has been found struggling with his oratorical skills or allowing a slip of tongue to enable opponents to rip into him. Donald Trump Junior, the eldest son of the president, did not waste time to mock Biden.
Quoting the Democrat’s words uttered on CNN, wrote in a tweet: "Debates are going to be fire" and followed it up with two fire emojis. Biden will be facing Trump in the presidential debates ahead of the November 3 election.
Biden, who was speaking from the confines of his home in Delaware, criticized Trump over his allegedly slow response to the pandemic. Last week, he unveiled a new ad targeting the Republican leader and clips showing the latter praising China for a "good job" in containing the virus.
Recently, the Trump campaign also came up with an ad that tried to show Biden going soft on China when the country has been condemned across the planet for having allowed the virus to hurt every corner of the globe.
Biden had his problems during the campaign, thanks to oratorical goof-ups and confrontations with voters, but he eventually prevailed in the race that was too crowded even till early last month.
Last week, three prominent names endorsed his candidature and they included former president Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren — another former presidential runner.
Former first lady Michelle Obama is also expected to endorse Biden soon. According to a report in The Hill, she could appear in an online video and go out with a fundraising appeal for the former VP.