Why did Joe Biden claim his son was killed in Iraq?
That’s a question many were asking this week when the president incorrectly claimed that his son died in Iraq during a speech in Florida. The president’s son Beau tragically died of brain cancer at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2015.
BIDEN BRIEFLY CONFUSES UKRAINE WITH IRAQ, ‘WHERE MY SON DIED’
“They talk about inflation … inflation is a worldwide problem right now because of a war in Iraq and the impact on oil and what Russia’s doing. … Excuse me, the war in Ukraine,” the president said. “I’m thinking about Iraq because that’s where my son died.”
Biden has been known for his verbal flubs and misstating facts when he speaks. And, objectively, to a degree, this happens to many politicians, although Biden seems to do it more than most. However, incorrectly stating the facts of one’s son’s death is, in a word, odd. And while some may claim it was just an innocent mistake or just the president misspeaking, it’s at least the second time he stated this in just a few weeks. In October, while speaking to a crowd in Colorado, Biden made the same claim.
“Just imagine — I mean it sincerely — I say this as a father of a man who won the Bronze Star, the Conspicuous Service Medal, and lost his life in Iraq,” Biden said at the time. “Imagine the courage, the daring, and the genuine sacrifice — genuine sacrifice they all made.”
There are only two logical explanations for Biden making this claim: Suspicions of his deteriorating mental state are indeed valid, or he is a compulsive liar. Neither of these scenarios is acceptable. That may sound harsh, but nevertheless, it’s true. And if Biden is for some reason lying about the easily verifiable details of his son’s death, then it’s yet another indictment of his lack of morality. And, given that Biden did this more than once, it seems like it is more than just a slip-up. It seems Biden is trying to convince audiences that his son died in Iraq.
A father having to bury his son is devastating. And, unfortunately, Biden has a history of tragic loss involving his family. His first wife and 1-year-old daughter died in a car crash in 1972. These are both unspeakable tragedies and would take an emotional toll on anyone.
However, I don’t think it’s a valid excuse, as some have tried to claim, to try to explain why the president keeps making these weird claims about his son.
