President Biden got off to a rocky start right off the bat for his State of the Union address Tuesday night when he incorrectly referred to his party’s majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, as the “minority leader.”
And the hits just kept on coming, at times drawing laughs from across the aisle.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer, another, uh, you know, another term as Senate Minority Leader,” the 80-year-old president said just a few minutes into his 72-minute-long speech.
Schumer, 72, has been the Senate majority leader since January 2021.
“You know, I think, you know, this time you have a slightly bigger majority, Mr. Leader. You know, majority leader, but that much bigger,” Biden fumbled further after the gaffe, trying to correct himself.
It wasn’t the only odd moment of the night.
The president later appeared to forget the name of Ukraine’s ambassador as he asked her to “stand so we can all take a look at you.”
Biden awkwardly drew attention to Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova, but he appeared to not know her name, which wasn’t spelled out in his speech.
“Tonight, we are once again joined by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States. She represents not just her nation, but the courage of her people,” Biden said.
“Ambassador …. our ambassador is here …. we are united in our support for your country. Will you stand so we can all take a look at you? We’re going to stand with you as long as it takes,” he added, never mentioning her name.
The commander-in-chief also drew laughs from GOP members of Congress after strangely suggesting that oil production could be phased out — after just another decade.
During an anecdote that did not appear in the White House release of his prepared remarks, Biden claimed energy executives have told him they are hesitant to increase domestic oil production because of fears the federal government will shut down refineries and oil wells.
Biden recalled trying to assuage their concerns by telling them: “We’re gonna need oil for at least another decade.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) could be seen laughing behind Biden at the remark along with other GOP members.
