Joe Biden told a a crowd in Las Vegas about speaking with French President Francois Mitterrand in 2021, despite him being dead since 1996.
During Biden’s trip to Las Vegas, he warned about the dangers of a potential second Trump presidency, attempting to increase enthusiasm ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Nevada.
Biden recounted a story about a meeting he had with French President Emmanuel Macron during a G7 event,
“I sat down and I said, ‘America’s back,'” Biden recalled.
“And Mitterrand from Germany – I mean from France – looked at me and said…”
Biden trailed off before saying, “Well, how long are you back for?”
Biden continued, saying the “Chancellor of Germany” asked him how he would respond if, hypothetically, thousands of people stormed Britain’s House of Commons and killed two “bobbies,” or British police officers, to stop the election of a Prime Minister.
François Mitterrand was France’s president between 1981 and 1995 and died in 1996.
Watch
JOE SPIRALS: “Right after I was elected… I went to a G7 meeting […] Mitterrand from Germany, I mean from France, looked at me, and said, uh… suh said… You know… What? Why? How long you back for?”
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) February 5, 2024
Francois Mitterrand died in 1996.pic.twitter.com/0KBknQCHNh
While the media attempted to cover for Biden, arguing he just got mixed up, there have been other instances where Biden has claimed he had spoken with people that have been long deceased.
In 2019, iden reportedly told donors that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was concerned about the United States under President Trump. The only problem, she had been dead for years.
Fox News reported:
Thatcher, Britain’s former prime minister, died in 2013 – nearly two years before Trump launched his first campaign for president.
According to Bloomberg News, Biden eventually corrected himself, explaining to the donors he meant to say British Prime Minister Theresa May instead of Thatcher, blaming the mix-up on a “Freudian slip.”
Biden’s confusing comments came Saturday during a closed-door fundraiser in Columbia, South Carolina. He listed Thatcher as one of 14 heads of state who he claimed have voiced concerns to him about Trump, the outlet reported.
May has been prime minister since 2016. Thatcher resigned as prime minister in 1990.
During his fundraiser swing in South Carolina, Biden also took a page out of Trump’s playbook on Saturday when asked if he had a nickname for the president. Biden reportedly said he didn’t want to get down in the mud with Trump, but if he had to choose a moniker for the current White House occupant it would be a “clown.”
READ: Japan Issues Message for Trump If He Becomes President: ‘Don’t Cut a Deal with China’
