In a particularly baffling - and revealing - moment on the tarmac, President Joe Biden appeared to confuse military “strikes” in the Middle East with union “strikes” here in the U.S.
The president appeared visibly confused when reporters began asking him about Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen on Sunday, the second since the summer.
“Mr. President, will you deploy more U.S. troops to the Middle East?” one reporter shouted.
“Has Netanyahu gone too far?” another hollered, as Biden began wandering over to the media.
"Any comment on the strikes in Yemen?” the first reporter then asked.
To which Biden responded, ”I've spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I'm supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they'll settle the strike.”
Reporter: "Any comment on the strikes in Yemen?"
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 30, 2024
Biden: "I've spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I'm supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they'll settle the strike."
This guy is so cookedpic.twitter.com/Tbzm93NEDD
Whether it was his inability to hear over the jet engines or he was simply lost in the issues, Biden, now 82, appeared to think reporters were asking him about a potential (and not currently active) strike at U.S. ports, as a union contract between port operators and shipping carriers is set to expire Monday. Even still, there's no strike as of yet to settle.
And it also still has nothing at all to do with Israeli action in Yemen.