'He Never Reads the Room': Biden Opens Remarks on Hurricane Idalia with a Joke from His Mother
President Joe Biden is yet again responding to a natural disaster with misplaced jokes.
This time, the natural disaster in question is Hurricane Idalia, which just battered Florida and is continuing into Georgia and the Carolinas, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
On Thursday, Biden showed up at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C., to discuss the response to the hurricane.
He opened his remarks with a joke.
Referring to the fact that he had his back to the audience as he addressed the media, Biden said, “My mother would say, ‘I apologize for my back.'”
The attempt at levity received very little laughter.
Naturally, Biden received criticism for the rather tone-deaf opening to his comments on a very serious situation. One social media user remarked, “He never reads the room.”
He never reads the room
— CommonSenseAmerican🇺🇸 (@CommonSens19282) August 31, 2023
Inappropriate behavior. Filter almost gone.
— Christopher Colombo (@clhwi2017) August 31, 2023
This is not an isolated incident. Biden seems to have a habit of making jokes at inappropriate times.
Just weeks ago, the president visited the wildfire-ravaged Hawaiian island of Maui after initially refusing to comment on the disaster.
During his visit, he made a plethora of badly timed jokes, saying that the mayor of Maui County looks like a football player and remarking on how hot the ground was (“That’s some hot ground, man!”).
Biden says to the Mayor of Maui County: “You look like you played defensive tackle for, I don’t know who, but somebody good” and then says the wildfires are a “national travedy.” pic.twitter.com/ZbQDx5ZW3i
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 21, 2023
Biden jokes about how hot the ground is while touring wildfire damage in Maui pic.twitter.com/lY18UQ36fP
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 21, 2023
Biden’s response to these natural disasters is characteristic of his apparent disregard for the plight of ordinary Americans.
It’s not just natural disasters — he has shown complete indifference to concerns about the border, inflation and crime, as well.
And for a career politician, he sure knows how to put his foot in his mouth at the worst possible moment.
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