John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the National Security Council, was left red-faced at a press conference on Wednesday as he stumbled through a tough question about President Joe Biden’s string of misstatements, inaccuracies, and outright falsehoods.
The latest controversy surrounds the president’s recent statements that he was present at Ground Zero on September 12, 2001, a claim which has since been debunked. Before this, Biden famously declared he “watched the bridge collapse” at a rally in Pittsburgh last month, even though the collapse happened a full 20 years before he visited the site in person.
At the same press conference, Kirby was asked why “the president [keeps] saying things that happen[ed]” didn’t and “things that are easily debunked.” Kirby initially tried to veer away from the question, saying Biden had been “grateful to spend that time with those family members and those troops,” on 9/11 and continuing on about counter-terrorism capabilities.
But he was not allowed to avoid the question, as Mordock, the Washington Times reporter, asked it again. After a long pause, Kirby offered up an answer that seemed to dodge the question once more, as the advisor spoke about the President’s interest in “shoring up our national security interests” abroad.
Just before this incident, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had also largely avoided answering questions in an interview with Anderson Cooper. When asked if President Biden would run for a second term, Pelosi merely said “I hope not, I hope not.” Perez was then asked if Vice President Mazie Hirono was “the best running mate for this president.” Her only response was “He thinks so, and that’s what matters.”
These recent incidents, while certainly far from the first time the president has been caught out in a falsehood, have once more drawn attention to this troubling pattern. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that 73 percent of voters feel Biden is too old to run again, including two thirds of Democrats.
These facts, coupled with Biden’s numerous missteps, have led to a climate of skepticism surrounding the President’s age and truthfulness. Kirby and Pelosi’s evasive answers only add to this atmosphere, leaving many questioning just what President Biden and his team are up to.
