Biden insists he wants to get Lincoln quote right — then suffers yet another malfunction

President Joe Biden made a point Friday of trying to get an Abraham Lincoln quote right when addressing members of the National Governors Association at the White House. Despite his best efforts and having the notes at his fingertips, the 81-year-old Democrat bungled his reference to the Republican president's first inaugural address, once again providing fodder to those critical of his advanced age.

Governors from over 40 states and territories joined Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and various cabinet members Friday for the NGA Winter Meeting. The NGA indicated that those assembled discussed possible bipartisan solutions to some of the various issues now confronting the American people, including housing affordability, AI risks, and disaster response.

After kicking off his brief remarks with an ethnic jibe, suggesting, "I may be the only Irishman you ever met that's never had a drink," Biden noted the portrait of President Abraham Lincoln looming behind him.

"You know, standing here in front of this portrait of the man behind me here, he — he said — and I want to make sure I get the quote exactly right," said Biden. "He said, ''The better angel.' He said, 'We must address the counsel — and adjust the better angels of our nature.'"

"And we do well to remember what else he said," continued Biden. "He said, 'We're not enemies, but we're friends.' This is the middle of, in the part of the Civil War. He said, 'We're not enemies, we're friends. We must not be enemies.'"

Contrary to Biden's suggestion, Lincoln issued his first inaugural address prior to the Civil War on March 4, 1861, stating, "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

After struggling with the quote, Biden quipped about his advanced age, saying, "Folks, I've been around, I know I don't look it, I've been around a long while."

Biden went on to bemoan the bitterness of politics, claiming that "politics has gotten too personally [sic]."

Just days earlier, the Democratic president indicated that he prefers his segregationist mentors to present-day House Republicans whom he stressed are worse than "real racists."

Unable to turn back time, Biden and his campaign have repeatedly appealed to humor in hopes of defusing concerns about his advanced age. Those concerns have not, however, gone away.

A Quinnipiac University poll revealed last week that 67% of likely voters think Biden is too old to effectively serve another term as president. By way of contrast, 57% of voters said that former President Donald Trump, only four years Biden's junior, is not too old to effectively serve again as president.

If re-elected, Biden would start his second term at the age of 82 and conclude his term at the age of 86 — roughly twelve years higher than the average life expectancy for the American man.

62% of voters told Quinnipiac that Biden lacks the necessary physical fitness; 64% said the Democratic president lacks the mental acuity.

Blaze News previously reported that Biden will not take a cognitive test as part of his upcoming annual physical.

Between the new polling numbers and Biden's latest gaffe, Democrats appear keen to once again paint a happy picture.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, 56, told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Biden's advanced age is an asset.

After suggesting Biden's first three years in office were a "master class," Newsom claimed that "it is because of his age that he's been so successful."

Newsom further credited "the wisdom and the character" that Biden has developed over his many decades in politics for the various policies Democrats have been able to drive through in Washington since 2021.

The California governor was not the only Democrat to defend Biden in the face of concerns over his age in recent days.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted the New York Times Wednesday for daring to ask questions about Biden's mental and physical fitness.

During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, Jean-Pierre quoted a leftist blogger's sense that "'the Times and other major media outlets ought to look in the mirror.'" Quoting Margaret Sullivan's Substack post further, Jean-Pierre added, "'Self-scrutiny and course correction are not among big media's core strengths.'"

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