Joe Biden’s mistake about the age of a little girl makes Internet users uncomfortable

“Creepy Joe” is back, headlined some Anglo-Saxon media. This nickname, which can be translated as “Anguished Joe” returns after a new sequence which made many Internet users uncomfortable on Sunday, November 19. Democratic President Joe Biden and his wife Jill participated in a Thanksgiving event at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, along with service members from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as of their families. Biden addressed attendees, thanking them for their service and noting that his son, Beau Biden, served in the military.

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Towards the end of his speech, the US president spoke to a little girl who appeared to be wearing stuffed cat ears as a headband. “I like your ears, I like them, they’re really cool. What is your name?” he asked her. The little girl, hesitant, lowers her eyes shyly as she responds: “Catherine.” “What a lovely name. That’s my mom’s name… How old are you? Seventeen years?” then asks the president. A little boy nearby answers for her, declaring that she is 6. Falsely surprised, Biden continues: “Six years old?”, before directing his attention to the boy, teasing him by asking if he was himself- even 15, to which the child declares having “four”. “Four years? You’re a pretty big guy. Well, I’ll tell you what, be nice to your sister. You’ll need her one day.”

The reactions on the Internet were not long in coming, with some calling Biden “scary” during the impromptu exchange.

This is not the first time that the president has caused unease for this type of interaction with young people. Last July, he scared a little girl by pretending to eat her ear and sniff it while he was visiting Finland.