On Friday, after warning his audience that they would be held responsible for the actions of vehicle burglars, President Biden abruptly interrupted his lecture on gun control by adding, “God save the Queen, man.”
Journalists present at the University of Hartford in Connecticut were mystified by the 80-year-old president’s closing remarks.
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“Several of you have asked me why he might have said that,” Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News wrote in a pool report describing the moment.
“I have no idea. Other poolers likewise have no idea.”
Deputy White House press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters later on Friday that Biden “was commenting to someone in the crowd,” but she did not elaborate.
“God Save the Queen” was the name of the British national anthem under Queen Elizabeth II, as well as a customary nationalistic statement during her 70-year reign. She died in September and was succeeded by her son, Charles III, reverting the anthem and royalist motto to “God Save the King.”
Biden’s muddled comment brought to mind the time he publicly mourned the loss of then-Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) and even contacted her family to express his sorrow a month before, only to ask, “Where’s Jackie?” in September.
Reporters began to wonder about Biden’s mental capacity following that incident, but his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, insisted that the president had not made a mistake and that Biden had been searching for the deceased lawmaker because she was “top of mind.”
On Friday, President Biden spoke out in favor of new legislation to make gun owners legally responsible for the improper storage of their firearms and to outlaw semiautomatic guns and high-capacity magazines like the AR-15.
“If any one of you drove up to the parking lot here today, got out of your car, left a key in your car and a kid comes along — 13-14 years old — gets in your car, takes it on a joyride and kills someone — guess what? You’re liable,” Biden said.
“Why should that not be the case if you don’t lock your weapon?”
On the contrary, the insurance-focused Claims Journal says, “The majority common law rule among the 50 states is that the owner of a stolen vehicle will not be held liable for damages when the vehicle is stolen and then involved in an accident that causes injury or property damage.”
The journal notes, however, that some states and cities have laws “that prohibits an owner from leaving keys in an unlocked vehicle, or otherwise holds the owner liable [and] the liability of the owner will usually depends on the facts of the case.”
In several states and the District of Columbia, car owners may be held vicariously liable for the activities of thieves if they leave their keys in the vehicle, according to a list of state legislation and case law compiled by the legal firm Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer.
Other states courts have reached the same conclusion, holding the owner accountable if leaving the keys in the car led to a foreseeably stolen vehicle because of variables like recent auto thefts in the region. These states include Connecticut and New Jersey.
Biden’s monarchical sign-off followed a series of attempts at humor, including referring to his age as “a little under 103” and “110.”
Nearing the end of his address, the president inquired aloud if the forecast predicted rain, adding that he would remain for photos if there was no chance of precipitation.
“They tell me there’s a storm coming in. Is that right? Is that still the deal?” Biden asked, as the crowd shouted in reply, “no.”
“That’s the truth, now? Don’t make a lie — there’s that scene in the John Wayne movie, ‘Don’t make me a dog-face lying pony soldier.’”
Biden proceeded to stay for photos ahead of a fundraiser in Tony Greenwich later in the day.