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Joe and Jill Biden joined in the US Navy celebration Saturday of the formal commissioning of the USS Delaware at the Port of Wilmington. Both Bidens spoke during the ceremony. Jill is the ship’s sponsor. Biden’s speech served as a brief introduction to Jill’s remarks, yet the White House transcript shows that his time at the microphone was not without a blunder. A correction in the transcript released by the White House is included.

The photo above is one from the christening ceremony for the USS Delaware. Senator Carper (D-Delaware), Newport News Shipbuilding president Jennifer Boykin, and Jill Biden were present in 2018 when Jill had the honor of christening the nuclear submarine in her role of ship’s sponsor. Joe wasn’t present and as far as I know, the ceremony went off without any notable moments. The christening took place in Newport News, Virginia and it looks like Jill enjoyed the activities.

Fast forward to Saturday and the formal commissioning of the USS Delaware. The Bidens are involved with the Navy nuclear submarine because of the Delaware connection. Joe Biden made a career out of representing the state in the U.S. Senate for decades. The Bidens own two homes in Delaware and have returned to one of those homes for weekend relaxation at least half of the time during Joe’s term in the White House.

Joe Biden stepped up to the microphone and began to introduce Jill by using a frequent line. “My name is Joe Biden. I am Jill’s husband.” He does that during appearances when they both speak, apparently as a way to compliment his wife’s own career. Unfortunately, the remarks made by the president went a little off the rails (shocking, I know) when he forgot the he was vice-president during the Obama administration, not Jill. Oops.

He didn’t clean up the error but the White House did it for him. When the official transcript was released, a correction appears. I put the statement with the correction in italics.

The daughter of a Navy signalman during World War Two, the mother of a member of the Delaware National Guard, the grandmother of children who experienced having their father deployed away from home for a year at a time. She always holds our military and their families in her heart. And that is not hyperbole; that’s real.

And I’m deeply proud of the work she is doing as First Lady with Joining Forces initiative she started with Michelle Obama when she [I] was Vice President and now carries on.

As First Lady, she doesn’t — she’s been to more military installations around the world. She’s hosted more than 20 events for military families.

It’s not the first time the White House has quietly cleaned up Biden’s remarks. He keeps the office on its toes. Jill went on to deliver her remarks. She spoke about Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus naming her the ship’s sponsor when it began construction in 2013 during the Obama administration. She mentioned the christening ceremony and bringing her grandson, Hunter, along to give him a sense of the family’s connection. When she thanked her husband for his introduction she said, “Thank you, Mr. President. I must admit, I never get tired of saying that.” She spoke about her activities working with military families, which she and Michelle Obama began doing in earnest during the run-up to Obama and Biden’s re-election campaign in 2011.

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The state of Delaware has loved the Bidens and cheered for us in most of our triumphant moments. It has carried us through the darkest times in our lives with a kindness that asks for nothing in return.

Delaware is family.

I’ll never forget the pride I felt when I stood at the Pentagon with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, as well as you, Tom, to announce that I would be this ship’s sponsor. The USS Delaware was nothing more than a drawing then.

In 2016, my grandson, Hunter, joined me for the keel laying. And I think he felt the important connection that our family has to service then, and it was such a special moment for both of us.

Her remarks and the rest of her speech were fine. The problem comes from her husband’s continued inability to deliver a speech, with or without a teleprompter, without a blunder that has to be cleaned up. The Saturday ceremony was at the end of a particularly sloppy week. Biden’s remarks last weekend in Poland where he essentially called for regime change in Russia as an ad lib at the end of his speech, which sent his staff scrambling to reassure everyone that Biden really didn’t mean what he said because, you know, that’s not US policy, dominated the first of the week’s news coverage. Then Kamala went to Jamaica and Mississippi and created unfortunate headlines of her own over her own inability to communicate effectively.

The errors Biden, in particular, makes while speaking publicly are not spotlighted to make petty corrections but to point to the fact that he is becoming more and more dangerous in his remarks. It is impossible to ignore his cognitive decline. Who knows what will come out of his mouth at any given time? He was supposed to be the adult in the room, the career politician with all those years of experience that would have a smooth-running administration. We have received the opposite of that. Crisis after crisis has popped up during Biden’s time in the White House, almost all of them his own making. His flubs are particularly troubling when they happen overseas.

When do we start having serious discussions about what to do with Sleepy Joe? Unfortunately he is both mentally and physically challenged in doing the job of leader of the free world. This is what happens when a 78 year old man in failing health is elected to such a position of power. It’s simply too much for him. The alternative, Vice-President Harris is no comfort. Even Democrats have soured on her. Her polling numbers are at historic lows for a vice-president. We know that Biden is at historic lows, too. This is a mess any way you look at it.

When Trump was president, the 25th Amendment was a source of story after story in the media as his term in office went on. However, it was brought up in terms of Trump’s actions, not an appearance of being mentally and physically in decline. It was a way for Never Trumpers and Democrats to talk about getting rid of Trump. Vice-President Pence was seen as a competent and calm alternative. We don’t have that kind of option in the current vice-president.

I’ll end with this. Once again Joe Biden appears to be dazed and confused as he tries to exit the stage yesterday in Delaware. Usually Jill takes his arm or his hand and guides him but she was being escorted off the stage. It’s sad.

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