Joe Biden Really Loves His Dated 'Gay Waiter' Anecdote, Even If No One Else Does

Joe Biden, a walking anachronism perpetually trapped in a bygone era, stuck his foot in his mouth yet again during a fundraiser in Seattle when he suggested that it was perfectly cool and chill to make homophobic remarks in…2014?

According to CNN,

The presidential hopeful suggested public sentiment toward gay rights issues has come far in a short period of time, saying five years ago if someone at a business meeting in Seattle “made fun of a gay waiter” people would just let it go, according to a pool report of the event. The audience vocally responded to the remark and some in the crowd said homophobic comments would not have gone unchallenged even before five years ago, according to the report.

What? I get that 2014 felt very long ago, but it’s only been five years, not 50. Members of the crowd pointed out to Biden that such comments would actually not have been acceptable at all, shouting “Not in Seattle!”

Biden’s intended point was that LGBTQ people still lack legal protections from job discrimination in 22 states, and that point is completely valid. But unfortunately, a large part of being president (a good one, anyway) is clearly conveying your message without mucking it up. This doesn’t bode well for Biden, whose social missteps have revealed themselves to be quite damaging indeed; a far cry from the days when he was seen as a bumbling, avuncular VP.

Politico’s Dan Diamond points out that Biden has been getting mileage out of this joke for years now, which is strange because it barely made sense when he debuted it:

It seems the bit can be traced back to 2014 itself, though at the time Biden established 1999 as the cut-off year for “gay waiter” slurs.

Has Biden just been programmed to repeat his old quips ad infinitum? Is there a system update available? Or is this really, truly the most trenchant anecdote about homophobia he’s been able to rustle up?