MAGA accused of double standards after Donald Trump, Mike Johnson gaffes

MAGA figures have been accused of double standards after criticizing President Joe Biden for his gaffes, but neglecting to mention gaffes made by Republican figures including Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.

Amid a wider debate about his age and cognitive ability ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Biden has been mocked by conservatives including Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after appearing to confuse two politicians at a televised news conference on the same day he defended his memory.

On Thursday, the Democrat defended his memory after the Department of Justice released a report about classified documents found at Biden’s home in Delaware and his Penn Biden Center office in Washington. It declined to prosecute him for mishandling classified documents, but raised questions about his mental fitness and called him “a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

However, GOP frontrunner Trump has also made a series of gaffes.

In October, the former president praised Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, during a speech in Derry, New Hampshire, but mistakenly called him “the leader of Turkey.”

In January, he appeared to confuse his GOP 2024 presidential nomination rival Nikki Haley with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Meanwhile, Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, last week appeared to confuse Iran with Israel while appearing live on Meet the Press.

Newsweek contacted representatives for Trump and Johnson by email to comment on this story.

With that in mind, commentators took to X, formerly Twitter, to point out the apparent hypocrisy of conservative commentators.

Social media commentator Brian Krassenstein said: “If you are calling out Biden for referring to Egypt as Mexico but didn’t have a problem with Trump calling Nikki Haley Nancy Pelosi, then you are disingenuous.

“If you are calling out Biden’s memory but ignoring the fact that Trump ‘did not recall’ 30+ times under oath then you are disingenuous.

“People make mistakes and misspeak all the time. I do it probably daily and I’m only 42 and don’t have people shouting at me.”

Tennessee election commissioner Chris Jackson said: “So when Trump says he doesn’t recall when asked a question, he is using a well-established legal tactic. But when Biden uses similar language, it’s dementia?

“Unbelievable.”

Journalist Gideon Rachman said: “Biden just called Sisi the president of Mexico. On the other hand, Trump thinks Orban is the leader of Turkey. Senility snap!”

Haley said: “Joe Biden and Donald Trump have a lot in common. Neither is at the top of their game and both were reckless with American documents.”

Todd Landman, professor of political science, School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., told Newsweek that while all politicians make gaffes, Biden’s forgetfulness is “troubling” for his campaign because it came from official reports rather than from a mistake made while speaking.

He said: “The 2024 electoral landscape is replete with gaffes from politicians and candidates across the political spectrum, while the key question for many becomes ‘when do these gaffes become a major concern?’ Commentators have been pointing out a number of gaffes that both President Biden and candidate Trump have made recently.”

He continued: “The publication of the official report from Special Counsel Hur on the classified documents retained by Biden, however, provides a more official characterization of forgetfulness that is troubling for the Biden campaign. Some may think that Republicans accusing Biden of memory loss is hypocritical, but many may see ‘off the cuff’ remarks during stump speeches and press conferences as different from a formal report based on in-depth interviews.”