'Biden Is So Stupid': The No-Seats Joke Biden Told at Least 12 Times (July 6, 2023)

President Joe Biden had a go-to line for the start of a speech, and he used it again at a solar plant in South Carolina. “By the way, if you have seats, sit down,” he said. “I’m sorry. I once said, ‘Everybody take a seat,’ and there were no seats. They said, ‘Biden is so stupid, he didn’t know there were no seats.’ Anyway” [1].

It was not a one-off. A HYGO News search of the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project found at least 12 versions of the joke between June 2021 and October 2024, and the story changed almost every time [1]-[12].

The video above shows the July 6, 2023, version at the Flex Ltd. manufacturing plant in West Columbia, South Carolina. Quotes are from the official transcripts.

The Dozen Versions

Here is what the official record shows, in order:

June 29, 2021, La Crosse, Wisconsin. The crowd “were out in a football field,” he said, and “the press pointed out, ‘Biden is losing it’” [2].
April 14, 2022, Greensboro, North Carolina. “The press pointed out to me there were no chairs out there” [3].
Sept. 12, 2022, Boston. “And they said, ‘There goes Biden again’” [4].
Sept. 15, 2022, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala. “The press said Biden was so stupid he didn’t even know though they didn’t have any chairs” [5].
Nov. 5, 2022, Joliet, Illinois. It happened “last year,” he said: “And the press said, ‘Biden is so stupid he didn’t know they didn’t have any chairs’” [6].
Jan. 30, 2023, Baltimore. Now it was “when I was running for the—in 2020,” and “the press said, ‘He is really stupid’” [7].
March 5, 2023, Selma, Alabama. “He’s so stupid, he didn’t know that” [8].
March 6, 2023, firefighters union conference. It was “early on in my Presidency,” and the press said, “He’s so dumb, he didn’t even know there’s no seats there” [9].
April 3, 2023, Fridley, Minnesota. “When I was—first became President,” he said, the press wrote, “He’s just so dumb he didn’t even know there were no seats” [10].
July 6, 2023, West Columbia, South Carolina. “Biden is so stupid, he didn’t know there were no seats” [1].
Aug. 15, 2023, Milwaukee. “The press wrote, ‘Biden doesn’t even know whether people can stand or sit’” [11].
Oct. 8, 2024, Milwaukee. This time it was one man: “the guy looked at me like, ‘What the hell is the matter with him?’” [12].

Across the tellings, the setting shifted from an evening crowd on a football field to the 2020 campaign to “early on in my Presidency,” and the punchline went from “losing it” to “so stupid” to “so dumb” [2][7][9][10].

”Bidenomics” in Action

The joke opened a speech on the economy, and Biden embraced a label he admitted had not started as praise. He said outlets “from—the Wall Street Journal to the Financial Times” had called his program “Bidenomics.” “I’m not sure they meant it as a compliment at the time,” he said, to laughter. “Our plan is working” [1].

He claimed “over 13 million new jobs since I’ve been elected to office, more jobs than any President’s ever created in their first 2 years,” and “nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs, including 14,000 in this State alone” [1].

He thanked “the leadership of Enphase and Flex for hosting us” and touted the deal between them. Enphase, a solar company, was “partnering with Flex to make these parts here in South Carolina,” he said, meaning solar microinverters. Its $60 million investment, he said, meant “1,800 jobs across the country” and up to “600 permanent jobs right here in South Carolina” [1].

He also set a sweeping target, calling the plant “another step in helping us meet the goal of a hundred percent clean, renewable energy—electricity by 2035” [1].

”I’m One of Those Guys Who Believe in Conversion”

Biden spent part of the speech needling Republicans who, he said, opposed his bills and then cheered the money.

Lindsey Graham. “I want to thank Senator Graham for voting for the bipartisan infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act, but I wish he’d voted for the rest,” he said of South Carolina’s senior senator. “Every Republican Member of the Congress voted against the Inflation Reduction Act. Every one” [1].

Tommy Tuberville. Biden said Alabama’s senator, “a former coach of the university,” had “strongly opposed the bipartisan infrastructure law” and was “now hailing its passage.” Then he added: “But that’s alright, because I’m one of those guys who believe in conversion” [1].

Marjorie Taylor Greene. Pointing to a solar factory in Dalton, Georgia, Biden said, “You may find it hard to believe, but that’s Marjorie Taylor Greene’s district. I’ll be there for the groundbreaking” [1].

Donald Trump. “Under my predecessor, Infrastructure Week became a punchline,” Biden said, before cutting himself off: “It’s just—I won’t get into it” [1].

”A Hundred Miles an Hour”

Biden also bragged about a tunnel project hundreds of miles away. “And today, in New York, we’re investing a record—a billion dollars to renew the Hudson Tunnel. You walk through that tunnel, it was built a hundred years ago. It’s falling apart. You’ll be able to go through it a hundred miles an hour instead of 30 miles an hour,” he said [1].

By the Numbers

12: versions of the joke in the official transcripts from June 2021 to October 2024, by HYGO News’ count [1]-[12].
3 years: the span between the first and last versions found [2][12].
$60 million: the Enphase investment Biden cited [1].
600: permanent South Carolina jobs he said it meant [1].
2035: Biden’s target year for 100% clean electricity [1].
12:58 p.m.: when Biden began speaking at the Flex plant, according to the transcript [1].

What Happened Next

The home solar credit ended. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill that President Donald Trump signed on July 4, 2025, the residential clean energy credit “will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025,” according to the IRS [13].

Biden left the race but kept the joke. On July 21, 2024, Biden announced he would not seek reelection, writing that “it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down” [14]. Eleven weeks later, in Milwaukee, he told the joke again, this time about “the guy” [12]. HYGO News covered the warnings Democrats ignored in its page on the polls that showed most Democrats did not want Biden.