Joe Biden Says the Darndest Things
[dropcap size=big]v[/dropcap]ice Presidents have no easy job. They break ties in the Senate. They have to replace the President if he’s indisposed. They have ceremonial assistant duties. Overall, being the number two is a great responsibility. Current Vice President Joe Biden would describe it as a “b*tch” (he was only joking, but much a true thing is said in jest). If you’re surprised that our own VP would even joke like that at Harvard, you’d be shocked to learn the other things he’s said on the campaign trail and throughout his Vice Presidency.
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Biden has now said he isn’t going to run, but if he did, he’d give Clinton a run for her money. Alarmingly, most people aren’t aware of how unprofessional Biden acts at times. If you’re going to vote for someone, it’s best to understand their character before you cast the ballot. After all, professionalism comes with the job. Here are ten things Biden has actually said, from least to most shocking.
10. F-Bombed on open mic.
In the private sector, if you were caught using inappropriate language in the workplace you’d probably have to deal with HR. This apparently isn’t the case with the Vice Presidency. Joe Biden’s train caused him to be late to an event, and when greeted by a colleague, Joe Biden was caught saying:
“An hour late, oh, give me a f***ing break.”
9. Incorrectly stated FDR’s years in office and said there were household TV’s in the 20’s.
“When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.”
What’s even more ironic is that earlier in the conversation he was saying how important is was for people to know what they’re talking about.
8. Obama’s “big stick”.
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No one can forget the timeless quote from Teddy Roosevelt “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” The quote means to be courteous and polite while having enough firepower to defend yourself if someone wishes you harm. However, Biden’s exact wording of this can be taken a very different way…
“I promise you, the President has a big stick. I promise you.”
7. Said Vice President was the best he could do.
There’s nothing better than having parents who want the best for their children. We’ve all heard “You can be anything you want to be when you grow up.” from a parent, grandparent, teacher, family friend, etc. Joe Biden heard it too, from his parents. Joe Biden recalled his parent’s encouragement on May 16th, 2012:
“My mother believed and my father believed that if I wanted to be president of the United States, I could be, I could be Vice President!”
6. Barack Who?
Not all of us are great with names. It’s reasonable to forget the name of that guy you sat next to in class next week or that new chap who started working with you yesterday at your job. However, running a campaign with someone for President of the United States requires a certain degree of comradery. Knowing each others names tends to help facilitate a productive working environment. However, Barack’s last name must have eluded Biden when campaigning in ’08:
“A man I’m proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next President of the United States — Barack America!”
You can just see the disappointment on Obama’s face.
5. Misspelled a monosyllabic word.
Sometimes, we all have poor grammar. On the off chance, we might forget to capitalize where it’s necessary or punctuate correctly. Especially when spelling larger words like “antidisestablishmentarianism” or even shorter ones like “cosmopolitan” or “libertarian”. However, Joe Biden has trouble spelling some smaller words:
Related: Top 5 Dumbest Quotes From Socialist Bernie Sanders
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“Look, John’s last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs.”
4. Well, he’s not wrong…
Being Vice President comes with more perks than just the paycheck. There’s a chance you will be President of the United States one day, there’s the stature and respect that comes with the title, you get to be friends with the President, there’s the fame, and there’s certainty the fact that you’ll go down in history. Anyone would be honored to receive such a title. If you want a nice job, you don’t say you’re less qualified than one of your competitors. Joe Biden made this mistake:
“Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be Vice President of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me.”
3. Said Obama is the first “Articulate” African American.
One can only imagine the egg shells Republican politicians must walk on to avoid be called racist, misogynist, sexist, ableist, ageist, etc. Anything controversial a Republican says could destroy their reputation and career. Democrats, however, have a much more forgiving audience. Anything they say can be used to better their career, no matter how racist it actually is. Joe Biden made a rather racist remark about Obama, and was still selected as the running mate:
“You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
2. More racist comments…
This next comment might not have been intentional, but it was directed at a much larger group of people than just Obama. He had this to say in front of a crowd of largely African American voters in Virginia:
“Look at what they [Republicans] value, and look at their budget. And look what they’re proposing. [Romney] said in the first 100 days, he’s going to let the big banks write their own rules — unchain Wall Street.
They’re going to put y’all back in chains.”
1. Had to drop out of Presidential run for Plagiarism.
The rest of this list might contain innocent mistakes and gaffes, ranging from silly to outright embarrassing. However, none compare to the thing that cost him the presidential race in 1987. Joe Biden admitted that he plagiarized a paper he wrote in college. While he said it was not out of malice but ignorance of the rules, Biden’s plagiarism indicates that he makes serious lapses in judgement. Everyone does make mistakes, but not everyone runs for an office that requires you to make almost none. The presidency requires some of the best decision making humanly possible. Your choices literally affect millions of people. Joe Biden’s plagiarism only cost him the White House, but what if he made a comparable mistake again after getting it? It’s relieving to know Biden is not running for office, not because he could lose, but because he could win.