During a recent White House event, President Joe Biden made another public gaffe, mispronouncing the name of Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut not once but six times. The event, held to honor the Council of Chief State School Officers’ 2023 Teachers of the Year, was attended by first lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
Hayes, elected in 2018 to represent Connecticut’s fifth district, was a teacher before entering Congress and won the “Teacher of the Year” award in 2016. However, during the White House event, President Biden repeatedly mispronounced her name as “Jonah” instead of the correct pronunciation, Juh-han-uh.
The President’s difficulty in pronouncing names is just one of many gaffes he has made during his tenure. In one instance, while speaking in Ukraine on President’s Day this year, Biden became disoriented in his speech, despite using a teleprompter. In another instance, he incorrectly referred to a New Zealand rugby team as the “Black and Tans” instead of the “All Blacks.” The White House transcript team later corrected the error in the written record.
Biden’s gaffes are not limited to mispronunciations or speech difficulties. He has also been known to tell false tales about his life and family. Recently, he claimed to have witnessed two men kissing in high school in the early 1960s, which he said led to an “epiphany” about supporting gay rights. However, Biden had been against gay rights and gay marriage until around 2006 and even voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
These mistakes and inconsistencies have not gone unnoticed, and recent polls show that more than 70 percent of Americans do not want Biden to run for a second term. As the media often turns a blind eye to these gaffes, it is essential for the public to remain informed and hold their elected officials accountable.
