President Joe Biden appeared to forget the name of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a Wednesday interview, referring to him as “the black man.”
The 81-year-old president, who has faced growing calls by Democratic leaders, Hollywood celebrities, and media personalities to drop out of the 2024 presidential election, made the apparent gaffe while highlighting his pattern of appointing black individuals to government positions throughout his first term in the White House during a Wednesday interview with Black Entertainment Television, according to The New York Post.
“It’s all about treating people with dignity,” Biden said. “And it’s about making sure that look…For example, look at the heat I’m getting because I named a, uh, the secretary of defense — the black man.”
“I named Ketanji Brown, I mean, because of the people I’ve named,” Biden added in reference to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Multiple outlets reported that it was not clear whether the president used the word “a” or “the” to describe his secretary of defense as black. However, Biden’s apparent gaffe during Wednesday’s interview with Black Entertainment Television quickly led to criticism on social media.
One social media user tweeted, “Let’s see how the Biden dead-enders spin this one,” while another user warned, “A POTUS who cannot remember the name of his SecDef — and instead calls him ‘the black man’ — is not mentally equipped to be in charge of 5,000 nuclear weapons.”
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On the other hand, some social media users defended Biden’s answer. One social media user tweeted, “I think people are misconstruing this clip. If you listen closely, Biden seems to say ‘the secretary of defense, a black man’ not ‘the black man’; and the context is he’s listing his black appointees.”
Wednesday’s interview was not the first time Biden seemed to forget the name of his secretary of defense. In 2021, The New York Post reported that Biden appeared to forget Austin’s name during an event at the White House, leading the president to refer to Austin as “the guy who runs that outfit over there.”
While announcing the nomination of two female generals for U.S. military combatant leadership roles, Biden said, “And I want to thank the sec — the, the, ah former general. I keep calling him general, but my, my — the guy who runs that outfit over there.”
Biden added, “I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he’s done to try to implement what we just talked about. And for recommending these two women for promotion.”
