Biden at TSMC: 'Biden Is So Slow,' 'Nano No-No' and Four White House Corrections (December 6, 2022)

President Joe Biden opened his speech at a computer chip plant in Arizona with a joke at his own expense. “I don’t know if any of you have any seats, but if you have a seat, please take them. [ Laughter ] I once said that when I first became President, and they said, ‘Biden is so slow, he doesn’t realize there are no seats out here.’ [ Laughter ]” Biden said on Dec. 6, 2022 [1].

Then he tried to describe the plant’s most advanced product. “The 3-nano chip. Chips that are three nano. Any—you know what I’m saying. [ Laughter ] Nano no-no. I don’t know. [ Laughter ]” Biden said, according to the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

The White House had to fix four of his lines in the official transcript [1].

The video above shows Biden at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant in Phoenix on Dec. 6, 2022. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project, The Associated Press and Reuters [1][2][3][4].

Four White House Corrections

Biden thanked a former congresswoman by the wrong name. “And Gabby Gifford [Giffords; White House correction], a great friend, is here as well,” he said [1].

He mixed up a former staffer’s name. “We had a Lieutenant Governor named S.B. Woo, and whose wife Kathy [Katy; White House correction] were on my staff,” Biden said [1].

He described TSMC’s project as “the largest foreign [direct; White House correction] investment in the history of this State.” [1]

And he got the state wrong. “Not just here in America [Arizona; White House correction]. Micron is investing $100 billion to build semiconductor factories in Syracuse, New York,” Biden said [1].

”Is Governor-Elect Hobbs Here?”

Biden looked for Arizona’s incoming governor. “Governor-elect Hobbs—is she—is Governor-elect Hobbs here? I don’t think—Gov, congratulations. Congratulations. [ Laughter ]” he said [1].

He praised Arizona’s other senator, who stayed in Washington. “And I want to thank Senator Sinema, who can’t be with us today. She’s in Washington working out another major piece of legislation. A tremendous advocate for the people of Arizona,” Biden said [1].

He also joked about the Arizona Democrats who flew with him. “They’re still talking to me. [ Laughter ]” Biden said [1].

He pointed out Apple’s chief executive in the crowd. “Tim Cook of Apple. Where are you, Tim? He buys a few of these little chips. [ Laughter ]” Biden said. “And he’s a small customer here at this outfit—[ laughter ]—between 25 and 35 percent of their—but anyway. I hope they’re treating you well. [ Laughter ]” [1]

“A Sense of Optimism”

Biden repeated a line from his speeches that fall. “And what I’m most excited about is, people are starting to feel a sense of optimism as they see the impact of the achievements in their own lives,” he said [1].

He said the company’s founder had a connection to him. “Sophie worked in my first senatorial campaign when I ran for the Senate. True story. So I owe an awful lot to this company,” Biden said of Morris Chang’s wife [1].

He closed with a boast. “Gas prices have fallen below the levels they are before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Biden said. “I’ve never been more optimistic—and I mean this from—I’ve been around a long while, as you can see—[ laughter ]—but I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.” [1]

“We’re Going to Win Georgia”

That night, Georgia’s Senate runoff was still being counted. “There were no visitors to the press cabin, where the TVs aired CNN’s coverage of the Senate runoff election in Georgia. By the time of our arrival, no winner had been declared in the race by the AP and networks,” the pool reported from Joint Base Andrews [2].

“Asked for his reaction to the Senate race, he shouted to the pool, ‘We’re going to win. We’re going to win Georgia,’” the pooler wrote [2].

Earlier in the day, the pool noted that the president “did not stop to take questions from reporters and boarded Air Force One at 9:48 a.m. ET.” [2]

By the Numbers

$40 billion: TSMC’s Arizona investment, per Biden [1].
4: White House corrections in the transcript [1].
$100 billion: the new investment TSMC announced with President Trump in 2025 [3].
$165 billion: TSMC’s total U.S. investment after that announcement, per its CEO [3].

What Happened Next

TSMC went bigger under Trump. On March 3, 2025, “Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in the United States, President Donald Trump said Monday, on top of $65 billion in investments the company had previously announced,” the AP reported [3].

“Semiconductors are the backbone of the 21st century economy. And really, without the semiconductors, there is no economy,” Trump said [3].

Sinema left the party. Three days after Biden praised her, “U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said on Friday she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent,” Reuters reported. “Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party,” Sinema wrote [4].

For Biden’s trip to Boston for the Georgia runoff four days earlier, see HYGO News’ page on Dec. 2, 2022. For his “sense of optimism” line in Michigan the week before, see the page on Nov. 29, 2022.