When all is said and done, presidents are only human. Some are more human than others judging from the words they have trouble pronouncing. For George W. Bush it was nucular, while Barack Obama — anointed the smartest man with the highest IQ ever to be elected to the presidency by historian Michael Beschloss — read aloud the silent p and s in corpsman.
Which brings us current to President-Elect Joe Biden. Throughout the campaign season Biden slurred his words often, but these verbal gaffes, which appear to be age-related, are in a different category from garden-variety mispronunciations. (RELATED: Biden’s gaffes are now setting all kinds of records for mental and verbal miscues)
So what word is Biden’s trouble word? The video that follows, excerpted from his Thanksgiving address to Americans, provides the answer — twice.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
"Devout Catholic" Joe Biden doesn't know the "P" in "Psalmist" is silent, not the "s". pic.twitter.com/kp9MZi3NvQ
— Howie Carr (@HowieCarrShow) November 25, 2020
The word he substitutes, palmist, is especially unfortunate since it is a term for some one who engages in palmistry, or telling one’s fortune by reading his palm — a practice pretty far removed from organized religion. Then again, like that other devout Catholic on the Democratic side, Nancy Pelosi, Biden tends to be a Sunday Christian, if that. In seeking the Democratic nomination, he renounced his career-long support for the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion except to save the life of the woman or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. Talk about your deals with the devil!
Biden was subsequently denied Communion at a church in South Carolina, where he was making a campaign stop. Rev. Robert E. Morey of Saint Anthony Catholic Church explained:
Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching.
