Biden Struggles Through Speech on New Legislation With Constant Coughing
President Joe Biden struggled through his speech on Tuesday celebrating new legislation with constant coughing.
Biden was repeatedly coughing during his White House South Lawn address celebrating the passage of the CHIPS Act, which seeks to boost the semiconductor industry in the United States amid competition from China. Biden signed the bill into law. The ceremony comes amid a string of legislative accomplishments including the CHIPS Act, the PACT Act and soon, as expected, the Inflation Reduction Act.
On a couple of occasions during his speech, Biden took a drink of water. He blew his nose once during the ceremony and again while sitting down before signing the CHIPS Act into law.
Biden recently came out of isolation after his second stint with Covid. He already was both double vaccinated and boosted and, while quarantined in the White House residence, took antiviral medication Paxlovid.
“You could certainly hear the president there with a bit of a loose cough,” said NBC News White House reporter Monica Alba following the ceremony. “He did say, of course, that was notable, something that we’ve seen the president at events before his double Covid cases, of course, from that rebound infection.”
The moments of Biden’s coughing, using tissues and drinking water were clipped, edited together, and can be watched in the video of this post.
Watch above, via MSNBC.
