Biden asks if dead Republican Rep. Walorski is in crowd during hunger speech
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President Joe Biden asked a crowd at a hunger conference to nominate Republican Representative Jackie Walorski — nearly two months after she was killed in a car accident in Indiana.
Biden, 79, named the late congresswoman as he thanked lawmakers from both parties for their efforts to help his plan end hunger in the United States.
‘Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?’ the president questioned Wednesday at the White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health in Washington, DC, after he also called on Senators Mike Braun, a Republican, and Cory Booker, a Democrat.
“She can’t be here,” he decided. The White House would also play a video tribute to her during the event.
Walorski was one of four people killed in a head-on collision on August 3, 2022 as he returned from a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Claypool, Indiana.
The other deceased was the driver of the other vehicle, as well as two staffers in the legislature’s office, communications director Emma Thomson and her district director Zachery Potts.
President Joe Biden asked a crowd at a hunger conference to point to Republican Representative Jackie Walorski — nearly two months after she was killed in a car accident in Indiana
Walorski died in August in a car accident in Indiana involving two of her staffers. Biden released a statement at the time saying he was “shocked and saddened” by her death
DailyMail.com has contacted the White House for clarification.
The president may have made a mistake in his remarks or there may have been a mistake in the speech on the teleprompter.
Biden released a statement at the time of the crash saying he was “shocked and saddened” by Walorski’s death.
“Jill and I are shocked and saddened by the death of Indiana Congresswoman Jackie Walorski along with two members of her staff in a car accident today in Indiana,” it read.
Born in her beloved South Bend to the daughter of a meat cutter and firefighter, she spent a lifetime serving the community she grew up in — as a journalist, nonprofit executive, state legislator, and eventually a member of Congress for the past nine and a half years.
“We may have represented different parties and disagreed on many things, but she was respected by members of both parties for her work on the House Ways and Means Committee she served on.
She also co-chaired the House Hunger Caucus, and my team and I appreciated her collaboration in planning a landmark White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health this fall, which will be marked by her deep concern for the needs of rural America.
“We extend our deepest condolences to her husband, Dean, to the families of her staffers, Zachery Potts and Emma Thomson, who died in public service, and to the people of Indiana’s Second District who lost a representative who had one of their own. ‘
Walorski was one of four people killed in a head-on collision on August 3, 2022 as he returned from a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Claypool, Indiana.
Biden, 79, named the late congressman as he thanked lawmakers from both parties for their efforts to help his plan end hunger in the United States
Earlier in his speech on Wednesday, Biden turned to Hurricane Ian and warned gas and oil companies not to use it as an “excuse” to raise prices at the pump.
He asked Floridians to abide by evacuation orders as the Category 4 storm approaches the Gulf’s shoreline.
“And if you forgive me, I’d like to add one more caveat,” Biden said. “That’s a warning to oil and gas industry executives: no, let me repeat it, don’t, don’t use this as an excuse to raise gas prices or gouge the American people.”
Biden pointed out that while oil prices have remained relatively low, gas prices should fall.
The price at the pump has risen again in recent days.
He added that less than 2 percent of US oil production – and only briefly – will be affected by the hurricane.
Investigators determined that the SUV driven by Zachery Potts, 27, (left) crossed the centerline for unknown reasons in a rural area near the town of Wakarusa. Walorski communications director Emma Thomson (right) was also killed
“This small temporary storm impact on oil production offers no excuse, no excuse for price increases at the pump. None,’ he said. “If gas companies try to use this storm to raise prices at the pump, I’ll ask officials to see if there’s any price push.”
“For Americans watching, the industry should be doing the right thing,” the president added.
Biden also said he had spoken to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on a phone call Tuesday night, a thorn in the side about immigration and other issues in recent months.