'The View' hosts slam criticism of Biden's 'where's Jackie' gaffe, say America is 'ageist'
Biden appeared to look for deceased Congresswoman Jackie Walorski in the crowd during an event on Wednesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The hosts of "The View" on Thursday slammed criticism of President Biden's "where's Jackie" gaffe and said that America was "ageist."
Biden seemed to forget about the death of Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski while he was speaking at an event Wednesday, repeatedly searching the crowd for her and calling her name while onstage. The Republican congresswoman was killed in a car crash along with two of her staffers on Aug. 3.
Biden made the mistake during an appearance at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in Washington. Walorski was one of four lawmakers who sponsored legislation pushing for the conference last year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I mean, she passed last month not, like, a hundred years ago," co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Thursday in response to the criticism of Biden. Joy Behar added that former President Donald Trump likewise forgot that 19th century American abolitionist Frederick Douglass was dead.
Sara Haines compared Biden's moment to a "brain fart" and "mommy brain."
Reacting to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answering questions about the obvious gaffe, Haines declared: "That was very apparent, what this gaffe was, I think her explanation made it worse though because in that moment I probably would have just said, ‘OK, guys, he had a moment, who in this room hasn't?’" The co-host added that Jean-Pierre kept repeating the same words.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talks to reporters during the daily news conference at the White House on Thursday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Behar claimed Republicans have "weaponized" Biden's gaffes in the past and have said that he's "senile."
"I think what it really shows is this country is so ageist. This country has a problem with age," co-host Sunny Hostin said. "You go to other countries and our elders are revered, and they're revered because of the knowledge that they have acquired, and this is a man who has worked in government his entire life, this is a man who probably had a relationship with this woman."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hostin argued that something like Biden's comments could happen to anyone and that people should "stop weaponizing his age."
"I hate that about this country," she added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden speaks during the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year event at the White House on April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said that the "cover-up was worse than the crime" and that the president has been "gaffe-prone" for his entire career.
During a press conference on Wednesday, multiple reporters asked Jean-Pierre about Biden's "where's Jackie" comments as she insisted he was not confused but rather had the deceased congresswoman "top of mind."
Griffin said Jean-Pierre could have just said it was a "mistake." And she added that the reporters who asked questions about Biden's gaffe during a Wednesday press conference were not "right-wing reporters."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"But they reflect what people say," Behar pushed back.
President Biden greets people at the White House on Aug. 24, 2022. (Reuters/Leah Millis)
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Walorski, 58, was killed in the crash along with staffers Zachery Potts, 27, and Emma Thomson, 28.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jean-Pierre told reporters 14 times on Wednesday that Walorski was at the top of Biden's mind because he plans to meet with her family on Friday at the White House.