I think Biden is trying to lose the race on purpose. Nobody can be this fucked up.
Biden misrepresented nearly every detail of his involvement in a 2008 war story
Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Former Vice President Joe Biden, currently leading in the polls for the 2020 Democratic nomination, got almost every detail incorrect in the retelling of his participation in a 2008 war story at a campaign stop, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Biden has drawn criticism in recent months for public gaffes and slips, including mistakenly thinking he was vice president during the 2018 Parkland shooting and mistaking Margaret Thatcher for Theresa May.
Details: Per Biden's recollection, a 4-star general asked him to go to Kunar, a province in Afghanistan, while serving as vice president. The purpose of the trip was to award a Silver Star to a Navy captain who'd rappelled a 60-foot ravine while under fire to retrieve the body of a fallen American comrade.
Biden misrepresented nearly every detail of his involvement in a 2008 war story
Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Former Vice President Joe Biden, currently leading in the polls for the 2020 Democratic nomination, got almost every detail incorrect in the retelling of his participation in a 2008 war story at a campaign stop, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Biden has drawn criticism in recent months for public gaffes and slips, including mistakenly thinking he was vice president during the 2018 Parkland shooting and mistaking Margaret Thatcher for Theresa May.
Details: Per Biden's recollection, a 4-star general asked him to go to Kunar, a province in Afghanistan, while serving as vice president. The purpose of the trip was to award a Silver Star to a Navy captain who'd rappelled a 60-foot ravine while under fire to retrieve the body of a fallen American comrade.
- Biden said he'd been told the trip was too dangerous, but stated: "We can lose a vice president,” adding, “We can’t lose many more of these kids.”
- Biden also claimed that the captain was reluctant to take the award, quoting him as saying, "Sir, I don’t want the damn thing!" and adding, “Do not pin it on me, Sir! Please, Sir. Do not do that! He died. He died!"
- Biden was actually a U.S. senator at the time, not the vice president.
- The military member who performed the rescue was an Army specialist, not a Navy captain.
- Biden never pinned a Silver Star on that service member.
- The soldier received a Medal of Honor from President Obama 6 years later, which he graciously accepted.