Biden’s Gaffe Suggests Very Much Alive Former Rep. Gabby Giffords Is Dead After Bizarre Remark: ‘Nothing Wrong with Me’

Gila River Indian Community, Arizona— President Joe Biden faced criticism on Friday after appearing to mistakenly suggest that former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is either dead or no longer his friend during a speech at the Gila River Indian Community. This gaffe occurred shortly after he reassured attendees that there was “nothing wrong” with him.

President Biden acknowledged that he was having trouble reading the teleprompter without his sunglasses. Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Thank you to Sen. Mark Kelly, a great friend — who also was married to an incredible woman who was my friend,” Biden stated, seemingly implying that Giffords, who is very much alive and has been married to Kelly since 2007, is no longer in the picture. The former congresswoman survived a shooting in 2011 that left her critically injured.

The president’s verbal misstep came moments after he stumbled over the name of the reservation he was visiting, confusingly assuring the audience of his well-being.

“I’m Joe Biden, and I’m Jill Biden’s husband,” he began, addressing the crowd. “Gov, thank you for that introduction. And to the Gila Indian River Community — the Gila… the Gila … nothing wrong with me.” He eventually corrected himself and acknowledged the community correctly.

The speech, delivered under the relentless Arizona sun, saw Biden struggling to read from the teleprompter.

He removed his signature aviator sunglasses as he spoke but quickly replaced them, admitting, “I’m putting these glasses on because I’m having trouble seeing this.”

In addition to addressing the audience, Biden issued a formal apology on behalf of the federal government for the historical policy that forced Native American children into assimilation-focused boarding schools. “As president of the United States of America, I formally apologise for what we did,” he declared. “It’s long, long, long overdue. Quite frankly, there’s no excuse that this apology took 50 years.”