President Joe Biden addressed the American people on Saturday, March 8, after a divided Senate passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
During his speech, Biden praised lawmakers for securing the additional round of aid as part of the American Rescue Plan, which has been a priority for the Biden administration. The relief bill will provide a fresh round of financial assistance to individuals, families, schools and businesses hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
This includes $1,400 direct payments, extension of supplemental unemployment benefits, an increase in child tax credit and financial support for state and local governments, schools and public health efforts.
'Private....Uh....Economic...Uh...Polling Initiatives'
A brief clip from Biden's address to the nation is now being widely circulated on social media after the 78-year-old president started stuttering and struggled to complete a sentence during his speech.
"The vast majority of economists — left, right, and center — from Wall Street to the....to the.... Private....private....uh...uh... economic.....uh....polling initiatives," Biden said during the nine-minute speech from the White House. Watch the clip below:
Twitter Reactions
The clip, shared on Twitter by a pro-Trump patriot, instantly went viral on the platform, amassing more than half a million views and thousands of likes and retweets. Even though Biden has been vocal about his struggle with stuttering in the past, The post racked up thousands of comments, mostly from right-wing social media, with users raising questions over Biden's mental fitness to run the country.
"He is seriously cognitively impaired and is a danger to this country as President, wrote one user, while another commented, "I actually feel sorry for him. He's being taken advantage of and it's clear that he's not in his right mind."
The clip comes amid nationwide concerns over Biden's apparent cognitive decline following a White House run blemished by repeated gaffes and other instances of the 78-year-old either becoming confused or tongue-tied. Last week, he went viral after he was caught mumbling "What am I doing here?" and mispronouncing the names of fellow Democrats during a trip to Texas.
Biden Facing Criticism Over Lack of Press Conference
Biden is facing growing criticism for not holding a solo formal press conference in the first 45 days since assuming office. Biden has addressed reporters briefly and has also taken questions from reporters when making statements on the coronavirus and other matters, but is yet to hold a solo press conference, making him the first executive in four decades to reach this point in his term without holding a formal question and answer session.
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that President Biden has not yet held a press conference because he is busy with "historic crises" linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
