President Joe Biden has been accused of forgetting the name of one of his top officials, who was sitting right in front of him, following other recent speeches where his "gaffe machine" status was re-cemented.
During an event at the White House this week, Biden made a reference to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas without naming him directly, leading some prominent conservatives to suggest he'd forgotten the secretary's name entirely.
However, looking into the footage, their conclusions don't seem as clear-cut as presented.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by RNC Research, sent on August 29, 2023, showed a video of Joe Biden in which he said "Secretary of Homeland Security, the guy who took the job, uh—thank you for taking the job, pal."
The tweet stated: "Biden forgets the name of his own DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas."
The RNC Research account is managed by the Republican National Committee.
Fox News host Sean Hannity also posted on August 29, 2023, claiming "Biden Forgets the Name of His Own DHS Secretary Mayorkas: 'The Guy Who Took the Job, Uh ...'"
The Facts
Although Biden may have a propensity for verbal hiccups, it's not clear from the clip alone whether he actually forgot Mayorkas' name.
The clip was taken from a White House event held on Monday, August 28, 2023, marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
After taking the stage, Biden made a few comments before thanking Attorney General Merrick Garland for being there—adding he was "not kidding"—before making the comment about the Secretary for Homeland Security. Although a little confusing at first, it appears to be an off-the-cuff gag about the responsibilities of the role
Speaking later on, the president would talk about the threat of white supremacist terrorism. It may be this, in the context of an event that discussed the struggle and fight for civil rights, that led Biden to make a joke about the challenges Homeland Security faces, taking a pause to recognize the weight of the role.
Again, it's not certain this interpretation is correct but it's also a leap to suggest that the president forgot Mayorkas' name. Biden was able to capably remember other members of the audience and conducted a 20-minute speech on civil rights legislation at the event on Monday.
Moreover, the likelihood of him forgetting such a senior U.S. official, particularly when other skills of recollection appeared otherwise untouched, seems thin.
It's still arguable that he did forget, but the claim made by RNC Research and Hannity seems to be their own conclusion, not a matter of fact.
Newsweek has contacted a White House representative via email for comment.
Clips of Joe Biden being misused to make misleading or inaccurate claims about the president have become something of a pattern in online conservative commentary.
A video of the president at an event in Lahaina, Hawaii, was used to make the incorrect claim that he fell asleep while listening to community leaders discuss the recent Maui wildfires. A similarly misleading claim was made about a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The Ruling
Unverified.
It's not clear whether Biden forgot Alejandro Mayorkas' name. The framing of his comment appears to be a humorous ribbing about the responsibilities of the role although the context doesn't make that entirely clear.
The conclusion being made about Biden's behavior appears to be an inference rather than fact.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
