President Joe Biden put his foot in his mouth in two separate speeches in the last few days. After mistakenly calling the Congressional Hispanic Caucus the “Congressional Black Caucus” at the group’s annual gala on Thursday, the 80-year-old flubbed rapper LL Cool Jay’s name and called him “boy” while speaking at an awards ceremony over the weekend.
On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, to discuss President Biden’s latest gaffes and how a once reliable faction of the Democrat Party’s base could be turning against him.
Biden’s Latest Gaffes
It is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and President Biden was delivering a speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 46th Annual Gala in Washington, DC, on Thursday when he seemingly forgot who he was talking to.
The commander in chief was praising gala award recipient Sister Norma Pimental, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, before his misspeak:
“I know Sister Norma lives the lessons nuns taught me growing up. Lessons based on the Gospel of Matthew: Feed the hungry, care for the sick, welcome strangers. They echo what my dad taught me, and I mean this sincerely, my dad used to say, ‘Everyone, everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.’ The Congressional Black Caucus embodies all those values.”
– President Joe Biden, September 21, 2023
The president never corrected himself much to the confusion of attendees. “Imagine if Donald Trump confused Hispanics for Blacks, which is what happened here,” Megyn noted. The slip up came on the heels of Biden seemingly implying Black and Hispanic workers don’t have “high school diplomas” during an event at a community college in Maryland earlier this month.
And then there was Biden’s appearance at the Congressional Black Caucus’ Phoenix Awards on Saturday. The event was honoring the music careers of LL Cool J and MC Lyte. At the podium, Biden struggled to pronounce the “Mama Said Knock You Out” rapper’s name before using a racial epithet. “LL J — Cool J,” Biden stumbled. “By the way, that boy has got — he’s got — I think that man has got biceps bigger than my thighs.”
Though Biden corrected himself, it is not the first time the president has referred to a Black man that way. Earlier this year, he called Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, “boy” during a speech about the economy. “You got a hell of a new governor in Wes Moore, I tell ya,” he said at the time. “He’s the real deal, and the boy looked like he could still play. He got some guns on him.”
A Lack of Enthusiasm
The verbal flubs come at a time when Biden and the Democrat Party as a whole are facing eroding support from a once reliable voting block. The latest poll numbers show the president is underperforming among nonwhite voters. “They are obviously seeing the lack of enthusiasm with minority groups, which tend to be the Democrats’ bread and butter,” Megyn explained. “They need Black [and Hispanic] voters to turn out for Joe Biden, and they need those [poll] numbers… to reverse themselves ASAP.”
Kirk believes there are a few reasons Hispanic voters in particular are moving to the right. “I think it’s the trans issue,” he said. “I think of all the issues the ‘faith, family, freedom’ base of Hispanic America find repulsive, it’s this idea that men can give birth.”
Culturally, Kirk wagered it’s a bridge too far for many in the Latino community. “You have someone that comes from Honduras legally or from Mexico that’s been here for two generations, they think that’s insane,” he said. “Someone from the Upper West Side… [is] trying to almost imperialize these values and colonize these communities – they don’t want anything to do with it.”
But that’s not all. “Hispanics want a border… not to mention the late term abortion stuff they don’t like at all,” Kirk said. “White liberalism is at odds with traditional Hispanic values, and you’re starting to see that manifest in the polls.”
For those reasons, the 2024 election could prove to be a realignment of sorts. “It could be that Donald Trump wins the Hispanic vote in 2024,” Kirk concluded. “If that happens, you will see a political realignment that could put the Democrat party into the minority for generations to come.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Kirk by tuning in to episode 634 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.