When Joe Biden Misspoke About Serving 12 Years as Vice President in Bizarre Speech

President Joe Biden made yet another embarrassing mistake during a speech about civil rights on Friday, July 16. He stated he served 12 years as vice president instead of 8. The gaffe happened at a White House event aimed at celebrating a new national monument in Springfield, Illinois, that honors the Black victims of the race riots of 1908.

"I never thought that, having been in the Senate for so many years as well as vice president for 12 years," Biden said. He quickly corrected himself, adding, "For eight years and president for four years." Biden, who is 81 years old, has faced questions about his mental sharpness. This latest slip-up is likely to fuel more concerns. The president went on to warn about the dangers of erasing history. He argued that it was crucial people remember the Springfield riots. "It's important, important, important," he stressed, as per The Sun.

He added, "Anybody that walks by this area knows what happened here because it could happen again if we don't take care of ourselves and fight for this democracy." The new monument commemorates a dark chapter in American history. In August 1908, White mobs attacked Black residents, killing at least 17. They also destroyed many Black-owned homes and businesses. The violence took place near Abraham Lincoln's former home.

Biden linked the monument to current debates about teaching history in schools. He criticized efforts to ban discussions of race in classrooms, likely referring to laws against Critical Race Theory. "We've made a lot of progress but we can never stop." He emphasized the importance of remembering difficult parts of history as a warning. The White House stated that the monument will "tell the story of a horrific attack by a White mob on a Black community that was representative of the racism, intimidation, and violence that Black Americans experienced across the country," as per Reuters.

Local artist Preston Jackson created sculptures for the site to honor the riot victims. The monument covers 1.57 acres and includes the foundations of five houses destroyed in 1908. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois spoke at the event about the site's significance. "It was the connection with Lincoln that really drove home the point that racism has to end in America...And we're still fighting that battle now," he asserted, as per ABC News.

The president has made addressing racial inequality a key part of his agenda. In 2021, he was the first sitting president to visit the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. He also signed a law making Juneteenth a federal holiday. "What I'm excited about, beyond the specifics of this [is] we're rewriting history," Biden said on Friday. "So [that] our children, our grandchildren– everybody understands what happened, and what can still happen."