Joe Biden took to the podium in Hanoi, Vietnam this weekend. It wasn’t a healing babbling brook that spoke but the meandering of a lost soul. Before Karine Jean-Pierre cut his mic he insulted guests and said he was ready for bed. But the president continued mumbling even after his mic was cut, not realizing the press secretary had ended his speech. The transcriptionist deserves a medal.
Biden isn’t intelligible
He tried to open with a joke. “Well, you know, there is that — one of my staff members said, ‘Remember the famous song, you know, ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’?’ Well, good evening, Vietnam. And good morning back in America”
The President’s transcribed remarks from a prepared speech had lines through them noting the constant pausing. That joke referenced the 1987 film with the late Robin Williams “Good Morning, Vietnam” that criticized the US for concealing the terrible truths about the Vietnam War. We don’t know how the Vietnamese took this casual humor.
Biden took questions
But only from five people, which he openly admitted he was only supposed to call on those five. “And now, I will take your questions. Let me see. They told me — they gave me five people here.” A Reuters reporter asked about China.
The rambling reply, “It’s not about isolating China. It’s about making sure the rules of the road — everything from airspace and — and space and in the ocean is — the international rules of the road are — are — are abided by.” A French reporter asked about climate change. The response was a meander about trees and farming.
Biden started wandering
The President assumed people knew about John Wayne or Native Americans.
“And there’s a — my — my brother loves having — there’s famous lines from movies that he always quotes. You know, it’s — and one — one of them is — there’s — there’s a movie about John Wayne. He’s an Indian scout. And they’re trying to get the Ap- — I think it was the Apache — one — one of the great tribes of America back on the reservation.”
But it got worse.
“And he’s standing with a Union so- — so he’s — they’re all on their — and they’re on their horses in their saddles. And there’s three or four Indians in headdresses, and the Union soldiers — and the Union soldiers are basically saying to the Indians, ‘Come with me, we’ll take care of you. We’ll — everything will be good.’ And the Indian scou- — the Indian looks at John Wayne and points to the Union soldier and says, ‘He’s a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.’”
He actually said this in the presence of Vietnamese and might have thought he was making a meaningful point.
