Joe Biden says RFK and MLK were assassinated in the late '70s

[melman]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[gordianot]

1. Gawd

[redstateblues]

2. Quelle horreur!

[raging moderate]

3. . Guys, let me tell you about your seventies.

Boy, is it ever hard to remember exact details, once you enter your seventies. I have vivid memories of Bobby Kennedy's assassination. I was a Gene McCarthy kid, but I was up all night comforting my roommate, who was a Bobby Kennedy kid. That was in 68. I know, because the next year I started living with my husband covertly. If you didn't have something like that, though, it is very hard to remember things from those days. Young people, go and write dates and names on all of those pictures. You think you will remember it all, but you won't. There are things I thought I would never forget, but they are turning hazy, now that I am in my seventies. And I am even in pretty good condition for my seventies. Young people, go and write it all down, right now! Especially the details. And especially the things you think you will never forget, because they are so important.

Oh, and maybe you guys who are aides of Joe Biden could step up your game, in giving him good notes with the exact details that he needs to be accurate in his speeches? It doesn't matter how intelligent Joe is. I have been struggling to remember the exact name of somebody I really love, for a couple of days now. Joe is plenty smart. Please help him; you could be helping him save the world.

[CentralMass]

12. I think it depends on the person. My dad who died just shy of 90

retained an amazing kowledge of historical events. It was a passion of his. He was not into computers but still read often and was a fascinating guy to converse with.

[highplainsdem]

14. I remember '68 clearly because I graduated from high school that year. But the mid-70s, when

I was the age Biden was in the '60s, are harder for me to nail down specific events by year, because I don't have anything like "the year I graduated" to pin the memory to.

[former9thward]

53. 1968 was a momentus year in American history/politics.

Major military reversals in Vietnam. LBJ is challenged by McCarthy and then deciding not to run. The MLK and RFK assassinations. The Chicago Democratic convention riots, The election of Nixon. No one active in politics, would forget that year unless something else is going on.

[karynnj]

82. Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972

I think that qualifies as a date he would remember and know it was years after the assassinations.

I wrote in another post that what I really want to see is Biden doing a long, unstructured discussion with someone on a wide range of issues to hear his ability to process all the information he has gained over decades into visions that will guide his policy making if president. That would mitigate questions coming from things like this.

Many people, especially those no longer in politics, like John Kerry have done many interviews like this as part of book tours - as have several other Obama administration people.

It is also the type of intelligence needed to make the kind of decisions that will be required. The gaffes do suggest he would do poorly on Jeopardy!

[The King of Prussia]

50. "is it ever hard to remember exact details, once you enter your seventies"

That's a very powerful argument for not having anyone of that age as President.

[True Dough]

4. In before "the gaffes don't matter"

"Joe's overcome a stutter, which still causes him to make occasional mistakes. Leave him alone."

In 3... 2... 1

[Thekaspervote]

31. This!!

[Perseus]

40. Not sure who said that gaffs don't matter. but they do matter, a lot

Democrats understand the innocence behind the gaffs, but republicans will jump at it and make a huge thing about them. Gaffs DO MATTER!

I don't understand why the people behind Biden, knowing full well that he does this all the time, that his worst enemy is his mouth, why they don't coach him to make sure he doesn't go off script.

Wait and see how the repubs jump at this and make it worst than what it is.

[Docreed2003]

54. Ageist!!!

Lol...just adding that before it's added seriously

[TexasTowelie]

5. .

Weak.

[Hoyt]

6. I gotta think about that one. I'm old, but know when I was married and Kennedys killed.

Also know what it’s like to talk in front of people, while worried about making innocent, inconsequential gaffes.

If he corrected it in next sentence, as mentioned below, that’s cool and shows he’s firing on all cylinders. That’s common.

[zaj]

7. There will be people who will justify voting for Trump...

... by pointing to silly mistakes like this. I get how people backing other Dems will bring it up. That's fine. But it's insanely trivial even in the not so grand scheme of things.

[highplainsdem]

8. Saw video online earlier. He corrected to "the '60s" in the next sentence. And his

first engagement WAS in the '60s. He married Neilia, his first wife, in 1966.

[John Fante]

33. Thanks for giving the whole story.

This is getting tiresome.

[Perseus]

42. It may be getting tiresome. but someone needs to coach Biden

Republicans will feast on stupidity like this, they won't show his correction, they will stop where the gaff was committed.

Why fight against republican propaganda? Better if Biden watches what he says, doesn't give the repubs and inch to go after him, then it won't be tiresome.

[John Fante]

56. This isn't an example of stupidity. Not by a damn sight.

You want stupidity, you know where to look. Trump is easily dumbest politician in the history of this country, and he heads to Republican party. They have no leg to stand on attacking Biden's gaffe .

[emmaverybo]

41. Thank you. We all all the time have slips of them tongue. A silly pundit while blasting Biden for

a “gaffe” said the primaries would be held in 2015. He did not even catch himself.

You go, Joe!

[yardwork]

64. Then this is harmful. People, stop the nitpicking.

[pdxflyboy]

9. So

[BeyondGeography]

10. Not to worry, this will only get better with time

[EarnestPutz]

11. There was an old line that "If you remember the sixties....

....you weren't really doing it right".

[former9thward]

55. Yes, but do we want whoever said that to be president?

[EarnestPutz]

69. There was another expression we used in the sixties - "Lighten up".

[highplainsdem]

13. The video in that second tweet you posted is cut short so you don't hear Biden correcting

himself, referring to the '60s.

[melman]

15. You also don't hear him saying "none of you women would know this"

But by all means post a longer video.

[uponit7771]

18. You mean were corrects get corrected too? Cutting out corrections is not a good look

[melman]

20. No

He does not correct himself. He says '60s later but doesn't address the error at all.

[highplainsdem]

22. He corrects to the '60s as the decade he's talking about. Just as someone getting a name

wrong the first time they use it and then correcting by using the right name within seconds has corrected the error.

No, he did not do a mea culpa and go back to what he'd said earlier.

He just corrected to the decade he meant.

Which is the way most people correct that sort of mistake.

I see that kind of thing all the time on news shows, where a journalist will make a mistake on some date or name and then get it right in a sentence or two and continue on with the correct date/name.

[highplainsdem]

21. That remark about women "not knowing this" was meant to suggest no women there could be

old enough to remember the decade he's talking about. I can't count the times I've heard men say "you're probably too young to remember" because they're trying to be gallant and flattering and they think a woman will be insulted if anyone believes she's old enough to remember what happened long ago.

You can label that sexist if you're anti-Biden. I prefer to view it for what it is: oldfashioned gallantry.

Unfortunately, I've seen that remark misinterpreted on Twitter as meaning that Biden was suggesting women are ignorant or have worse memories than men.

[oasis]

32. Gallant flattery was definitely Biden's intention. nt

[emmaverybo]

44. Vultures ready to twist anything Biden says into a racist or sexist comment. Ironic in that

Joe has the civil rights record and Joe put so much into the VAWA and has been a champion of women in politics.

Gallantry. Never out of fashion.

[cwydro]

61. Wait, what did he say about women?

[marybourg]

16. Compared to tRump, he's a stable genius.

[progressoid]

25. That's a pretty low standard.

Compared to trump, my cat is a stable genius.

[uponit7771]

17. Did he inspire White Supremacist Racist to murder 30 people? No!? Who gives a shit? thx in advance

[DesertRat]

19. Sigh

[Tiggeroshii]

23. He would.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

24. Maybe ol' Joe just experiencing "the Mandela Effect"?

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[emmaverybo]

45. Speaking of Mandela, Joe's fight for what's right goes back to his bucking Reagan and Schultz's

immoral complacency about apartheid in South Africa.

This is honestly a pleasure to watch:

://

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

51. Yes, Joe deserves much credit for that.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[CatMor]

26. He corrected to the right decade so why is it a big deal ...

Everyone misspeaks now and then both young and old.

[highplainsdem]

28. Apparently the Biden citics hammering him for every slip of the tongue are paragons who never make

any such mistakes themselves, even if they're speaking much of the day.

Never mind that people who are actually expert say we all make such mistakes. These Biden critics are PERFECT.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287233461

That Psychology Today article points out that slips of the tongue typically occur about once every seven minutes of continuous talk.

[CatMor]

36. Many of my mistakes are regarding dates ...

I have even made a mistake on my children's birthdays a few times and I am of sound mind and body.

[Lordquinton]

37. They probably also aren't running for president

And against other highly qualified people who don't have to correct themselves daily.

[emmaverybo]

46. Biden is the most all around qualified candidate for the presidency. And not one can touch him

for his understanding of the urgent need for sense and action in our foreign policy and relations. Not one has addressed the world situation with any depth of knowledge or experience.

[Kahuna7]

65. +1 nt

[BannonsLiver]

66. Because the OP loathes joe Biden and supports someone else

Easily one of the most vicious Biden critics on DU.

[Doodley]

27. He misspoke. So?

[Lotusflower70]

29. Ugh

It seems he is has been having this issue on a regular basis now. Not good. Not good at all.

[Duppers]

38. Agreed but I don't care if he even needs crib notes

If he can beat tRump by a mile.

[Ponietz]

30. Crikey

🙊

[betsuni]

34. This is disqualifying.

[tirebiter]

35. They were STILL assassinated in the late 70's.

Some things do not change.

[BlueTsunami2018]

39. Тяцмр today called Jews stupid and disloyal if they vote D.

But by all means, let’s talk about a meaningless misspeak that was instantly corrected.

And people wonder why we’re called a circular firing squad who repeatedly snatch defeat from the hands of victory.

[procon]

43. Pettiness is weak sauce whether its tossed

out by an insecure president or used as a cheap Acme cudgel to chastise one Democratic candidate over another.

Serious issues are at hand, but they go missing. Why then all this contrived "concern" and the artless astonishment that tries to mask another personal attack on the current leading candidate?

[emmaverybo]

47. THIS.

[uponit7771]

68. +1

[Thekaspervote]

77. On point!!

[Sugarcoated]

48. Joe!

#ScrantonJoe2020 is gonna win back the blue wall industrial states!!!

[MFM008]

49. They are both dead

Thats the point.
What could he EVER say that could be worse than
What maggot spews?

[IronLionZion]

52. Republicans will "both sides" this to say he's just like Trump with the gaffes

[Sloumeau]

57. I have had to check Google.com a lot to verify what

happened in the '60s versus the '70s. I am much more worried about someone who thinks he can buy Greenland than by someone who gets some dates incorrect.

[mainstreetonce]

58. People are being very unfair to Joe

I hear him saying when he was out of college in the 70's ......these assassinations had happened .
He Is not using present tense.

He is,saying his generation of people coming of age in the 70s were affected by the recent history of assassinations.

This is not a gaffe.

[Thekaspervote]

78. Now that makes sense... but hey who wants to hear that when ya gotta chance to club

Mr. Biden over the head... again and again

[Hassin Bin Sober]

59. This is disqualifying

[LanternWaste]

62. I imagine by now, you'll allege a badly done Windsor knot is disqualifying.

It's not surprising at all then that you don't hold your own to the same standards you hold everyone to.

[LongtimeAZDem]

72. +1

[UniteFightBack]

70. LOL

[cwydro]

60. Yikes.

[quickesst]

63. everyone loves attacking Joe Biden....

.... on what amounts to be trivialities, knowing full well there is no common goal other than to benefit each individual's choice of candidate. Does anyone really believe that someone is attacking the front runner for the benefit of someone who supports a candidate they do not support?

[BannonsLiver]

67. Weak sauce.

I expect more from someone who loathes Biden as much as you do.

[myohmy2]

71. just...

...because Joe continuously stumbles is no reason to pick on him...

...considering his age, he's not doing too bad...

...we all age differently...

[scardycat]

73. ::shrugs:: who cares

[Joe941]

74. So petty. It don't mean nothing.

[Joe941]

75. The amount of ageism in this thread alone it astounding...

And disappointing.

[BeyondGeography]

76. That term has been rendered meaningless here

Tell, me, is there any point at which it’s permissible to link persistent cognitive or verbal lapses to a candidate’s age without being called ageist? If so, wouldn’t that be ageist?

[Thekaspervote]

79. Let it go..

[Joe941]

83. Quit peddling the right wing talking points around here...

[tymorial]

80. This is not a minor gaffe.

[Princetonian]

81. For Pete's sake, Joe corrected himself immediately which the OP neglected to add.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Let those who have not done the same cast the first stone.

[tymorial]

84. Yeah I see that now.

[Autumn]

85. He married his first wife in 66, maybe he's confused about which wife he got engaged to.