Dysfunctional US government

[Belle]

Is this absolutely the best you can do??!!! The White House aged care centre where the President has 'handlers' instead of advisers and the VP hasn't got a clue about her job. I actually feel sorry for President Biden. It's tantamount to elder abuse.

‘Important alliance with North Korea’:
Kamala Harris gaffe while visiting demilitarised zone

ADAM CREIGHTON
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Vice President Kamala Harris has accidentally declared the US has a “very important” alliance with North Korea, drawing comparisons with the US sitcom Veep and inflaming criticism of Ms Harris and Joe Biden’s competence.

Speaking slowly and deliberately, in front of two military helicopters at the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, Ms Harris said the US “shared a very important relationship, which is an alliance with the Republic of North Korea”.

“It is an alliance that is strong and enduring,” she went on before assembled press and dignitaries, intending to refer to the Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea, with which the US has a military alliance.

Ms Harris, who has dozens of personal advisers, was visiting South Korea to demonstrate the US’ “rock-solid commitment” to regional security, according to earlier remarks by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The remarks of the vice president, who hours earlier had held talks with the president of South Korea in Seoul, came a day after Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile into the sea as an act of provocation, the third launch in five days, timed to coincide with the vice president’s five-day visit to Japan and South Korea.

“In the north, we see a brutal dictatorship, rampant human rights violations, and an unlawful weapons program that threatens peace and stability,” she later said in her remarks.

The slip by Ms Harris, whose speaking style has frequently courted criticism, came after a series of gaffes by President Joe Biden, 79, prompted a fresh round of questions about his cognitive ability and the presidential pair’s competence.

“Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?” Mr Biden said earlier this week, staring into a crowd at an event to combat global hunger, referring to the late Republican Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, who was killed in a car accident in August.

Touring the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday (Friday AEST) to congratulate staff on their role in helping Florida respond to Hurricane Ian, the president appeared to walk off stage at the wrong time after delivering short remarks.

A day earlier the First Lady Jill Biden instructed a confused looking president on how to leave the stage. “You go down this way,” she said, pointing to the stairs.

Mr Biden last week suggested Elton John was responsible for the AIDS crisis at a charity event, after the British superstar performed at th`e White House, prompting considerable mirth on social media.

“It’s all his fault that we’re spending US$6 billion in taxpayer money this month to help AIDS — fight HIV/AIDS,” the president said.

The Poynter fact checking Institute quickly cleared up the confusion over whether US was blaming AIDS on Sir Elton.