Unplugged: Biden Suffers Earpiece Fail, Snubs Handshake with Japan, South Korea Leaders

President Joe Biden may have touted the historic agreements with the leaders of South Korea and Japan at Camp David on Friday, but several mishaps peppered his press conference as the trilateral meeting wrapped up.

It is almost a given that any public speech offered up by Joe Biden comes with a generous dollop of blunders. The US president did not fail to deliver on the latest occasion, as he gave a press conference at Camp David in Maryland.

Flanked by Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Joe Biden hailed the just-signed trilateral pact on joint military exercises and intelligence sharing. However, the 80-year-old POTUS’ speech was peppered with gaffes and contentious remarks.

As seen in videos circulating on social media, the Democratic hopeful for reelection in 2024:

• Claimed that “America first” policies weakened America.
• Misidentified Japan’s prime minister as the “president” of Japan.
• Forgot to unplug his earpiece
• Strode off without shaking hands with anyone else, leaving Fumio Kishida and Yoon Suk-yeol to clasp hands and grin behind his back.

Biden forgets to unplug his earpiece after his “press conference,” then walks away without shaking hands with the other two leaders pic.twitter.com/4rmfuHu4Fh

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 18, 2023

At one point during the presser, when responding to a question whether countries in Asia could rely on America’s nuclear umbrella for “protection,” Biden said, in a nod to Donald Trump:

“There’s not much, if anything, I agree on with my predecessor, on foreign policy. His ‘America First’ policy of walking away from the rest of the world has made us weaker, not stronger.”

It took literally moments for conservatives to skewer POTUS on social media for the remark. Many comments mocked Biden’s statement that, “putting our own country first makes us ‘weaker.’”

Because Biden’s “America Last” policies have worked out so well for us? 🙄 https://t.co/S0v0o3nrdg

— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) August 18, 2023

…and there it is.

America is always last for Joe Biden https://t.co/pbV95h5JRR

— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) August 18, 2023

Also at the event, Joe Biden appeared confused as to whether the man standing next to him was the prime minister of Japan, or Japanese “President” Fumio Kishida.

ANNOUNCER: “Ladies and gentleman, the prime minister of Japan.”

BIDEN: “President.”

No, that’s Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. pic.twitter.com/xyZcmoliBX

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 18, 2023

After ending his speech, Joe Biden turned and walked off with the earpiece still in his ear, only to realize this after it fell to the podium. Glancing back and taking stock, he smiled, and randomly uttered, “We’re winning all the competitions.” Exiting the stage, he left without shaking hands with either of the other speakers.

Comments on social media were peppered with the word “embarrassment.”