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Biden Mocked on Social Media When Apparent Teleprompter Problem Derails His Coronavirus Speech

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Former Vice President Joe Biden’s first video briefing from his Delaware home got off to a rough start Monday when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee struggled out of the gate and committed a number of gaffes during a prepared speech.

Biden announced Friday that he would begin holding his own shadow briefings about the coronavirus in a promise to hold President Donald Trump accountable for his response to the public health crisis.

As scheduled, Biden appeared Monday at a podium from inside his Wilmington estate. The roughly 15-minute briefing quickly devolved into a series of mishaps and apparent equipment malfunctions, which led to the candidate being mocked across social media.

While the former vice president attempted to assure Americans he has the answers to the country’s health and economic problems, he appeared both lost and unprepared at times.

At the opening of the briefing, Biden had to be reminded by his staff that the conference had begun.

The candidate sat for a number of moments in silence as the camera rolled.

While waiting for the already live briefing to begin, Biden touched his face, apparently forgetting warnings from health authorities that people should refrain from touching their faces in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.



Biden later appeared to momentarily forget what he was talking about when delivering remarks about the rising number of coronavirus cases.

Biden said government officials must, “Beef up the number of responders dealing with the crush — these crush of cases. And, uh, and in addition to that, um.”

The 77-year-old then waved his hand under the podium and continued, “In addition to that, we have to — make sure that we, uh — we are in a position that — we are — well, let me go to the second thing. I’ve spoke enough of that.”

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Some speculated Biden might have been dealing with a teleprompter malfunction.

In praising governors across the country for their leadership, Biden referred to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker as “Charlie Parker.”

Charlie Parker was, of course, an acclaimed jazz saxophonist who died in 1955.

Biden did concede that the current health crisis is not Trump’s fault, but he criticized the president for not offering “clear leadership.”

Do you think Joe Biden should leave the coronavirus briefings to President Trump?

“Trump keeps saying he is a wartime president, well, start to act like one … Donald Trump is not to blame for the coronavirus, but he does bear responsibility for our response,” he said.

The candidate also praised Senate Democrats for blocking a bipartisan $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package Sunday night and suggested lawmakers should consider forgiving student loan debt.

Biden’s inaugural video briefing came after more than a week of relative silence from the candidate during the nation’s current health and economic crisis.

He had spent the week transforming his home into somewhat of an opposition headquarters, according to people working on his campaign.

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Johnathan Jones has worked as a reporter, an editor, and producer in radio, television and digital media.
Johnathan "Kipp" Jones has worked as an editor and producer in radio and television. He is a proud husband and father.




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