Joe Biden, the President of the United States, called out for a
Congresswoman who had died in a car accident in August this year. The US president,
speaking at a conference on hunger Wednesday, called out: “Jackie are you here?
Where’s Jackie?” referring to Indiana Congresswoman Jackie Walorski.

Walorski was a Republican and a cosponsor of one of the bills
that funded Wednesday’s conference.

“I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected
officials like Rep. McGovern, Sen. Braun, Sen. Booker, Rep. – Jackie, are you
here?” Biden said.

“Where’s Jackie? I thought she was going to be here – to help
make this a reality,” the President added.

Walorski’s death in August had sparked a condolence message from
the White House where the President and First Lady Jill Biden had said that
they were “shocked and saddened” by the sudden accident.

“I appreciated her partnership as we plan for a historic White
House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health this fall that will be marked
by her deep care for the needs of rural America,” the statement read.

Also Read | Biden administration aims to end hunger in US by 2030

Joe Biden’s gaffe attracted a slew of responses from
Republicans. “Truly an awful and disgraceful blunder,” wrote Vicky Hartzler, a
Republican Congress representative from Missouri.

On being asked about the President’s mistake, White House Press
Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden had already planned to welcome the
congresswoman’s family to the White House for a bill signing on Friday. “She
was on top of his mind.

Congresswoman Jackie Walorski died in a car crash on August 3
along whith her staffers, district director Zachary Potts, 27, and
communications director Emma Thomson, 28.

Initial reports after the accident led to suspicion that another
car had entered their lane and crashed Walorski’s car which was being driven by
Zachary Potts. However, further investigation revealed that it was Walorski’s
car which was on the wrong lane.