Biden Appears To Forget Name of ‘Black Man’ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in BET Interview
President Joe Biden appeared to forget the name of his own Secretary of Defense on Wednesday, referring to Lloyd Austin as the “Black man” in an interview with Black Entertainment Television (BET).
During the interview, Biden boasted about his record of appointing Black people in his administration and claimed he had received heat for doing so.
“It’s all about treating people with dignity,” he said. “For example, look at the heat I’m getting because I named a, uh, the secretary of defense, [the or a] Black man.”
He then incorrectly referred to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as just “Ketanji Brown,” before concluding, “I mean, because of the people I’ve named. It’s about making it clear that American history is Black history, Black history is American history, and it’s being built by it. That’s why we’re strong.”
The moment quickly went viral on social media, with users debating whether Biden referred to Austin as “the Black man” or “a Black man.”
BIDEN: “Look at the heat I’m getting because I, I named a, uh, the, uh, secretary of defense — the black man” 🥴 pic.twitter.com/PJYzDznpIV
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 18, 2024
Biden forgets Lloyd Austin’s name and refers to him as “the black man.” Let’s see how the Biden dead-enders spin this one. https://t.co/X0QZyj0Owf
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) July 18, 2024
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 https://t.co/7SciFi4l9y
— Ken Klippenstein 📎 (@kenklippenstein) July 18, 2024
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. https://t.co/2Dw7r9FC5l
— Annie Jacobsen (@AnnieJacobsen) July 18, 2024
Biden calling @SecDef “The Black Man” is probably why his administration doesn’t hold Cabinet meetings anymore. https://t.co/zRQNjJvXa2
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) July 18, 2024
https://t.co/8IeeHxP9EX pic.twitter.com/zg5nV0fe46
— Prison Mitch (@MidnightMitch) July 18, 2024
Biden has previously received backlash for his remarks about Black voters and race.
In 2007, Biden apologized after describing Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean.”
In 2019, Biden received backlash for remarking that “poor kids” were “just as bright and just as talented as white kids,” while in 2020, he said Black voters who were not sure whether to vote for him were not Black.
“If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” he told radio host Charlamagne tha God, before later apologizing for the remark.
Biden has also received criticism for messing up several names in recent months, including Vice President Kamala Harris – who he referred to as “Vice President Trump” – and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he introduced as “President Putin.”
Watch above via BET.
