It has once again been a bad week to be Joe Biden. The president presided over the Medal of Honor ceremony for Army Capt. Larry Taylor on Tuesday and inexplicably bolted from the ceremony before it was complete, leaving the war hero alone on stage.
It was a weird, cringeworthy moment for a president who has become known for his unpredictable, often unexplainable behavior. Biden has also displayed a penchant for appearing to be disinterested and insensitive at times, often choosing to talk about himself or his son Beau when speaking with disaster victims and Gold Star families.
The latest incident comes hot on the heels of a visit to Hawaii that was not only far too late but featured Biden making jokes and comparing a minor kitchen fire in his own house to hundreds of families losing everything they own to the Hawaiin wildfires. Now, it appears Americans have grown weary of Biden’s antics.
To make matters worse, First Lady Jill Biden recently tested positive for Covid. Per the CDC guidelines for the White House, since Biden has been in close contact with his wife, he was to wear a mask indoors around other people. He removed the mask to deliver his remarks and continued the ceremony in very close contact with the 81-year-old Wilson maskless.
When pressed about this, Karine Jean-Pierre attempted to explain the president’s behavior: “The president took off his mask, as I said he would, to deliver incredibly powerful remarks about this captain, Capt. Taylor, and what he did in service to our nation. And for a brief time afterwards, he also didn’t have his mask on.”
Whether the mask incident was simply another gaffe from Biden or was planned, the White House seized the opportunity to claim the president bolted from the ceremony to avoid more close contact with people. Though he simply could have put a mask on and honored the benediction, he chose to leave.
Jean-Pierre also spoke about this: “He left as planned, as it was planned. He left when there was a pause in the program in order to minimize his close contact with attendees who are about to participate in a reception.”
Whether it was planned or an excuse for more erratic Biden behavior, social media wasn’t having it. Former Navy Seal and popular podcaster Shawn Ryan Tweeted: “Pardon my French…But what a f—ing idiot. The continuous lack of respect Biden has for anyone is appalling. Hawaii, Service members, active shooter victims, the list goes on.”
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), who is an Army veteran, said: “At least he didn’t check his watch this time,” referring, of course, to the now infamous footage of Biden constantly checking his watch as the bodies of the service members that died in the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan were brought home.
The White House appeared to deflect on the issue further. Jean-Pierre said: “We’ve got to put this all in context. We planned for the president to leave when there was a pause in the program so that it would minimize him being in the room. He did just that. And I also would want to add that before the event started, the president spent a good amount of time with the captain, Capt. Taylor and his family. And everybody was masked because he wanted to spend that quality, important time.”
Whether the exit was planned or a senior moment, perhaps it would be good policy for the White House to inform people ahead of time if the president is going to break protocol and wander away in the middle of an emotional ceremony.
Unfortunately, Joe Biden is going to do what he does. Whether it is intentional or not is sometimes debatable, but what isn’t is the damage he continues to do to the weight of the office with every senior moment and cringeworthy incident.
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