‘Where’s Doug?’ Biden repeatedly calls congressman by wrong name

WASHINGTON — President Biden called Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) by the name “Doug” four times Thursday during a gaffe-filled visit to the congressman’s district.

“Where’s Doug? Congressman?” the 80-year-old president asked while giving a speech on the economy.

“He’s around here somewhere,” Biden said as he searched the crowd. “Oh, there you are. Doug, thanks for the passport into town. Doug and I have something in common, we both married way above our station.”

Biden is the oldest-ever president, and his mental acuity is frequently a matter of debate as he prepares to launch a 2024 re-election campaign.

The uncomfortable moment recalled the infamous September exchange when Biden asked “Where’s Jackie?” as he searched for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) in a crowd, despite publicly mourning her death and even calling her family to offer his condolences in August.

About five minutes into his remarks Thursday, Biden appeared to recognize his error when he called Beyer “Doug” for a fourth time and seemed to grasp for his actual name.

“Doug knows, Do —,” Biden said haltingly, before launching into an attack on House Republicans, claiming: “Look, here’s the deal … They want to cut your Social Security and Medicare. Now, this is the God’s truth. It’s almost unbelievable.”

Contrary to Biden’s remark, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said repeatedly this week he doesn’t want to cut the social safety nets.

Beyer, a House member since 2015, is a wealthy car dealership owner who became a popular Democratic designate for proxy votes during the COVID-19 pandemic because his urban northern Virginia district abuts DC.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden would receive his annual physical before Feb. 1. It’s unclear if the exam will feature a cognitive test.

Biden stumbled at other points in his remarks Thursday, including when he said that a train tunnel in Baltimore goes under the Potomac River although the body of water is about a one-hour drive from Maryland’s largest city.

“Next week, I’m visiting Baltimore and New York. We’re going to replace a 150-year-old tunnel, the Baltimore Potomac Tunnel, under the Potomac River, which will allow rail traffic to move up and down the East Coast,” Biden said.

The president appeared to be confused about the physical location of the tunnel because of its name, a legacy of its construction in the 1870s by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad.

“I’m probably the only non-rail guy who’s walked that tunnel,” Biden added. “No, I’m not joking … last time I walked it, they still had lights that were on a string hanging down, leaks in the roof — folks, 150 years old, nothing has been done to it. Everything has to slow down. And there’s a great worry that part of it could collapse.”

Biden also claimed in his remarks that COVID-19 vaccinations were mass-deployed by his administration and not by former President Donald Trump “because the other guy and the other team didn’t think it mattered a whole lot” — despite the Trump administration overseeing the rapid development and initial month of deployment of vaccines.

The point of Biden’s speech was to promote his economic agenda amid a standoff with House Republicans on increasing the national debt ceiling.

Biden said that “a distinct minority of 30 to 40%” of Republicans were “determined to be the party of chaos and catastrophe.”

Although the White House has thus far refused to negotiate in the debt ceiling standoff, Biden appeared to hint he was open to talks.

“Look,” he said. “I’m ready to work with Republicans, and I’ve demonstrated — to the chagrin sometimes of my Democratic friends who want to make progress for the American people — I’m ready to compromise if there’s something good we want to deal with.”