Jake Tapper Has to School Biden on How to Cough Properly, Joe Also Gets Confused About Op Ed He Wrote

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at New Hope Baptist Church, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Joe Biden emerged this week after several days out of sight.

But some Democrats might have wished he stayed out of sight because he was a train wreck.

During his Wuhan coronavirus speech on Monday, he touched his face, stopped talking when he seemed to lose the teleprompter and didn’t know what to do and confused the Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s name, calling him “Governor Charlie Parker.”

He looked old and addled.

WATCH: Joe Biden began his coronavirus speech today by touching his face. pic.twitter.com/2M749VMuJZ

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 23, 2020

Joe Biden when the teleprompter stops working is a train wreck pic.twitter.com/6BXFgPNKKa

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) March 23, 2020

Then he hit a succession of shows including The View, MSNBC and CNN. He seemed to stumble through all of them.

He appeared on CNN with Jake Tapper, but Tapper had to advise Biden on how to cough properly in accordance with the Wuhan coronavirus guidelines.

Biden was talking about what he would do to fight the virus. He claimed he hadn’t been tested for the virus when he was coughed into his hand. He has been repeatedly coughing in recent interviews.

Less than a minute after Joe Biden said he has not taken a coronavirus test, he coughed into his hand on CNN.@jaketapper immediately told him he should be coughing into his elbow and Biden pushed back, saying it's okay because he's in his house…

YIKES pic.twitter.com/D85y2Bya38

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) March 24, 2020

Tapper then said, “You know, you’re supposed to cough into your elbow,” as he demonstrated.

Biden admitted that Tapper was right, but claimed he was at home. “But fortunately, I’m alone in my home, but that’s OK. I agree you’re right.”

However, Tapper wouldn’t let him go with that. “It’s kinda just old school to do it with your hand,” Tapper said, demonstrating. “Do it into your elbow. You’re supposed to do it.”

There is a point to that, not only to make a new habit but to also model the guidelines.

Biden also was confused about an op ed that he said he wrote about fighting the virus.

VIDEO – @JoeBiden Claims He Wrote Op-Ed on Coronavirus, Gets Outlet and Date Wrong https://t.co/lbWsS2NlrS

— Grabien (@GrabienMedia) March 24, 2020

“All of the way back in January 17th, I wrote a piece for U.S. News & World Report saying we’ve got a real problem.” He said the virus was real, “We have to start acting now.”

Except his op ed was actually on Jan. 27 and it wasn’t for U.S. News & World Report, it was for USA Today. Further, Trump has never said the virus wasn’t real and has been acting since at least January, when Biden was still calling action like cutting travel with China “xenophobia.”

He’s struggling to present himself as presidential but is just succeeding in reinforcing that he’s confused and not fit. But folks on the left are so desperate to get back into power that they don’t seem to care. As The Atlantic’s Alex Wagner wrote, all they need from him it to “stay alive.” “Democrats need little from the front-runner beyond his corporeal presence,” Wagner’s article declares in the subhead.

Alrighty, now. They’re going to find out that’s really not enough, that Americans want more than that.

We’ll leave you with a super cut from Tom Elliott at Grabien of all the interviews, just tweeted by the president.