President Joe Biden's off-the-cuff remark about a friendship he had with a 12-year-old girl "when he was 30" has raised eyebrows.
The 79-year-old Democrat interrupted his own remarks on climate change at a rally for the National Education Association (NEA) teachers' union on September 23 to address a woman in the crowd he apparently knew long ago.
"And everybody found out, there’s not a lot of total climate deniers anymore after they’ve seen what happened this year. But guess what, we got a lot to do," Biden said, when he abruptly swerved off topic to point at someone in the crowd.
"You gotta say hi to me," the 47th POTUS said in a low voice, continuing:
"We go back a long way. She was 12 and I was 30, but anyway. This woman helped me get an awful lot done. Anyway."
While attendees laughed, some Conservatives on social media found the remark more disturbing than endearing.
Podcast host Monica Crowley went on Twitter to wonder if this was a case of "dementia progressing."
NewsBusters executive producer Tim Graham remarked that it was pretty evident why Joe Biden's handlers need to be constantly alert.
New York Post writer Miranda Devine queried if, perhaps, there was “any exculpatory context" lurking in the remark.
Conservative actor Nick Searcy tweeted that "Democrats think this is normal.”
"This is just plain creepy," commentator Kyle Becker added.
From the “creepy” stage whisper used by Joe Biden on occasion, to shaking hands with thin air and appearing to be, on occasion, “lost,” America’s oldest serving president is no stranger to blunders and publicly cringeworthy moments. Just recently, after Biden's address at the Global Fund's Seventh Replenishment conference on September 21, the POTUS turned to leave the podium, but suddenly came to a halt and appeared completely lost.
The incident happened just four days after Biden said "watch me, if you think I don’t have the energy level or the mental acuity" in an interview.