Vice President Joe Biden has become known as the Vice President who goes off script with remarks that cause plenty of controversy. However, if he simply listened to his speech writers, Biden likely wouldn’t get himself and his administration in so much trouble.
Recently the Associated Press printed the headline “Blunders Renew Questions About Biden’s Discipline” after Biden once again went off script. His recent remarks led the Obama administration to spend much of Monday’s White House press briefing giving apologies to the press over Biden’s comments.
As the AP notes, “As Biden seeks to fashion himself as a credible alternative to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, his latest missteps have rekindled lingering questions about his ability to serve as commander in chief,” the AP reports.
So why has Joe Biden gone so far off script? Here’s a bit of insight into what his aides observed:
“Former aides who have prepped Biden say they repeated predetermined talking points to him over and over before sensitive meetings and high-profile speeches. The vast majority of the time he hits the script perfectly, the aides said. But sometimes their pleas not to freelance were met with a roll of the eyes by Biden, who served for decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has strong views of his own. So, Biden either deliberately ignores what his advisers tell him — or perhaps he’s forgetful.”
On Monday White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Biden “is somebody who continues to be a core member of the President’s national security team.”
Read more: