‘We beat medicare’: Biden freezes mid-answer before being bailed out by moderator

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – President Joe Biden froze-up during the first 15 minutes of the 2024 presidential debate before being bailed out by CNN moderator Jake Tapper.

The debate between Biden and Trump kicked off with Tapper and fellow moderator Dana Bash jumping straight into America’s economy and questioning the two about the national debt and taxes. Following a response by Trump regarding top earners and corporations paying less in federal taxes, Tapper gave the floor to Biden.

However, as Biden laid out his argument, he took multiple pauses as his answer spiraled out of control.

“We would be able to wipe out his debt, we’d be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, childcare, eldercare, making sure that we continue to strengthen our healthcare system, making sure that we are able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I have been able to do with the Covid – excuse me, dealing with everything we have to do with,” the president continued before pausing and looking down.

Biden paused for several moments before saying, “look, we finally beat Medicare,” before Tapper cut him off and moved on.

Just prior to the pause, Biden called out Trump’s addition to the national debt as being the largest of “any president in a four year period.”

“He had the largest national debt of any president in a four year period, number one. Number two, that $2 trillion tax cut benefitted the very wealthy. What I’m going to do is fix the tax system. For examples, we have 1,000 trillionaires in America – I mean billionaires in America. And what’s happening?” Biden said.

“They’re in a situation where they in fact pay 8.2% in taxes. If they just paid 24%, 25%, either one of those numbers, they’d raise $500 million – billion I should say – in 10 year period.”

The Biden administration has continuously argued for tax hikes on capital gains and income-based wealth, claiming that it would reduce racial wealth inequality for minorities.