On Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke at a holiday party for the Democratic National Committee. It went about as well as many have come to expect.
According to a White House transcript of the speech, Biden was discussing his Build Back Better plan. While trying to explain why he was so passionate about it, he instead delved into a completely nonsensical story.
“I’m worried about families and elderly grandparents and what — their lives at stake,” Biden said. “Every one — every one — every one is a little harder.
“So, you know — so mom can — grandmom can walk out without having — out of her porch — without worrying about falling, can take care of herself, can be left alone. They’re going to keep working to pay the bills.”
What in the world is Joe Biden trying to say here? pic.twitter.com/QVEubepnaA
— Tommy Pigott (@TommyPigott) December 15, 2021
It is near impossible to discern the point Biden was trying to make, but I’ll give it my best shot.
According to the transcript, these comments followed ones from Biden regarding the cost of child care in America.
“And the Build Back Better plan — people ask me why I’m so insistent on the elements of that plan,” Biden said. “Here’s the deal: I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about young people — whether they can get kids daycare — can they do that.
“You know, a lot of you are paying 14,000 bucks a year for childcare. The cost is crushing. Under our plan, the cost will be cut in half.”
If Biden was trying to use his example of a grandmom falling off the porch to emphasize the importance of affordable child care, that reasoning makes no sense.
While families should not have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to care for their children, that doesn’t seem to relate to the health of grandmom.
Another possibility is that Biden was trying to explain the importance of a different aspect of his Build Back Better plan. According to the White House website, the plan does include affordable care for older Americans.
“A family paying for home care costs out of pocket currently pays around $5,800 per year for just four hours of home care per week,” a news release on the plan states.
“The Build Back Better framework will permanently improve Medicaid coverage for home care services for seniors and people with disabilities, making the most transformative investment in access to home care in 40 years, when these services were first authorized for Medicaid.”
Even if Biden was talking about this aspect of his plan, his reasoning still did not make sense.
In his awkward anecdote about grandmom, Biden said he wanted to ensure she “can take care of herself, can be left alone.”
However, people who need home care are by definition unable to take care of themselves. That is why they need to pay someone else to care for them.
Unless Biden believes the Build Back Better plan will somehow turn back time and reverse the aging process, it is unclear what point he was trying to make.
At this point, applying logic to Biden’s public addresses is essentially pointless. His constant gaffes have eroded the public trust in his ability to lead the country.