The Biden ouvre is littered with cringeworthy missteps, but chief among them is probably this faux pas from 2008, when the then-candidate urged Missouri state senator Chuck Graham to stand up at a campaign rally—before realizing Graham is a paraplegic.
The senator, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a car accident at age 16, took the gaffe in stride, and Biden quickly recovered by asking the audience to rise on Graham’s behalf.
“Stand up Chuck, let ‘em see you,” Biden implored, before noticing his blunder. “Oh, God love you. What am I talking about? I’ll tell you what, you’re making everybody else stand up, though, pal.”
The future VP made his way over to Graham, and — in a characteristic moment of self-deprecation — joked, “You can tell I’m new.”