President Joe Biden’s Gaffe on the Tarmac
As President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris landed on the tarmac to welcome home Americans who had been held captive overseas for years, an unexpected gaffe occurred. This event took place on Thursday night and quickly turned a positive photo opportunity into a moment of confusion.
The Arrival of Freed Americans
The return of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan to American soil was an occasion for celebration. High-ranking administration officials who had orchestrated the largest prisoner exchange with Russia and Germany since the Soviet era were overjoyed. Whelan had been incarcerated since 2018 after being convicted by Russian authorities on espionage-related charges, while Gershkovich had been serving a 16-year sentence since his conviction 17 months prior for similar false crimes. The president and vice president were expected to warmly welcome these men home, but events unfolded differently.
The Unexpected Turn of Events
A video clip of the men’s arrival shows President Biden standing at the base of the plane just before the two men set foot on American soil after many years. However, as they disembarked from the aircraft, Biden walked away to converse with a man and woman who appeared to be family members of one of the freed men. He kept his back turned to Gershkovich and Whelan as the crowd applauded their arrival. Vice President Harris, however, managed to stay focused and briefly hugged the journalist.
A senile Biden wanders away from the plane and Kamala turns her back, oblivious, as Evan Gershkovich steps on American soil for the first time in a year and a half
This is a pathetic clown show. Total embarrassment to our country pic.twitter.com/TRNTD8NvtC
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) August 2, 2024
Odd Behavior
What transpired next was puzzling. Biden, seemingly intrigued by something in the vacant plane, left the ceremony to ascend its stairs and enter it. Harris and two Secret Service agents watched as the president disappeared into the aircraft as though he were embarking on another leg of a nonexistent journey.
Administration Officials’ Opportunity
Despite this unusual behavior from the president, administration officials had a chance to highlight a significant foreign policy achievement that had been kept in the public eye by the Journal’s continued coverage of its own reporter long after his story had faded from public consciousness. Two years prior, President Biden celebrated the return of WNBA star Brittney Griner after she spent more than two years in a Russian detention center on a marijuana-related conviction. The deal included the release of at least five Russian nationals, some of whom had been imprisoned in Germany. Among them were a millionaire implicated in a hacking scandal, a convicted murderer, and several men with ties to Russian intelligence services.
Former President Donald Trump’s Reaction
Former President Donald Trump criticized the White House’s deal on Thursday in an incensed Truth Social post, claiming he could have executed the exchange without conceding anything to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby countered Trump’s depiction on CNN. He stated, “The previous administration also conducted prisoner exchanges. The previous administration also had to make tough decisions to get Americans home…That’s what you have to do when you have people in harm’s way over there. You’ve got to make these tough decisions. It’s not easy.”
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