Former Vice President and current 2020 Candidate Joe Biden, sticks his foot in his mouth so often, he had better hope that his proposed healthcare overhaul includes coverage for podiatry!
In the latest goof by the gaffe-prone candidate, Biden accidentally described his healthcare proposal as a plan that’s “not quality” and would “increase premiums” on working class people.
Speaking last week at a healthcare town hall in Hanover, New Hampshire, Biden was presumably trying to sell his plan to the audience, but his word choices likely had the opposite effect, at least until he corrected himself.
“And for folks in the working class that are below 400, they will, in fact, increase their, their premiums, excuse me, will increase the generosity of the premium tax credit they now get,” Biden said.
The Democratic 2020 presidential candidate was obviously attempting to say the tax credit would be increased, but, before correcting himself, slipped and said the premiums themselves would rise.
In another blunder, in a video clip making the rounds that were originally posted by GOP War Room, you can see Biden describing the plan as “not quality.”
“If you’re not satisfied, you have another option, high-quality options, the public option will be available in my plan,” he said. “We’ll make sure it’s not quality, we’ll make sure it’s only affordable. Quality that’s affordable.” I guess the word “only” was meant to go in-between “not” and “quality.” But, with Joe, these days, you never really know if it’s misremembered line, a misread teleprompter, or just utter confusion.
To his credit, the former VP did quickly correct himself, but his gaffes and misstatements are numerous and well documented. This month alone, he went from telling a mostly Asian and Hispanic audience that “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids” to telling an Iowa crowd that “we choose truth over facts,” to recall the assassinations of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy as having occurred “in the ’70s, late 70s.”
And, maybe the gaffes are starting to take their toll, Biden has dropped significantly in the most recent polls. The one-time clear Democratic frontrunner is now tied in a statistical dead heat with rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, all three now polling at about 20% of likely Democratic voters.