“I promise you it will go away if you just keep at it.”
(Picture: Photo courtesy of @rufusgifford/Twitter)President Joe Biden gave a touching piece of advice to a young girl who struggles with a stutter - something he’s experienced in his life.
On Sunday, US Diplomat Rufus Gifford took to Twitter to post a video of Biden telling the girl, named Avery, the following heartwarming message: “I promise you it will go away if you just keep at it.”
“Thank you, Mr President,” she said as she gave him a hug. Biden also extended an invitation to visit the White House.
Avery is the niece and goddaughter of Gifford, the ambassador of Denmark from 2013 to 2017, former deputy campaign manager for Biden and a nominee for Chief of Protocol.
“She was just told by a guy who knows a little something about it that she can be anything she wants to in this world...A day she will never ever forget. Thank you sir,” Gifford’s wrote, in part.
My amazing niece and goddaughter Avery has struggled with a stutter much of her life.
— Rufus Gifford (@rufusgifford) November 28, 2021
She was just told by a guy who knows a little something about it that she can be anything she wants to in this world.
A day she will never ever forget.
Thank you sir. ❤️🇺🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/RDP5Y0FfTa
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People flocked to the comments to express how sweet this moment was.
Check out those responses below.
A good man leads this country. https://t.co/GE4xs5QfD9
— ERIC OO YO FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA 🎄❄️ (@TheUlloa2) November 29, 2021
As a human, I’m so moved by this. As a speech-language pathologist, I understand that this could change her life in such a positive way 💚
— DrMarySLP (@DrMarySLP) November 28, 2021
Joe is a jewel of a human being. https://t.co/bJUx0XzgTl
— Oceana Lizard (@OceanaLizard) November 30, 2021
That's why Joe Biden is my President and Trump never will be. ❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/pHhyyPTEp0
— MyLittleBirdSays (@AmyJenson95) November 29, 2021
💞💞💞 Grateful for a president with such a kind and good heart. https://t.co/qEbQ96ybeJ
— Sara DiVello (@SaraDiVello) November 29, 2021
Biden hasn’t shied away from discussing his stutter.
Although he said he never got professional intervention to prevent it, he gave praise to his mother for encouraging confidence within him.
Biden practiced speaking in front of a mirror as a child by reading William Butler Yeats or Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Unfortunately, supporters of former President Donald Trump callously mocked Biden.
According to The New York Times, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former White House press secretary posted and deleted a tweet that said, “I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about.”
Biden had quote-tweeted her with the following:
I’ve worked my whole life to overcome a stutter. And it’s my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It’s called empathy. Look it up. https://t.co/0kd0UJr9Rs
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 20, 2019
She later apologised, noting she should have made her “point respectfully.”
I actually didn’t know that about you and that is commendable. I apologize and should have made my point respectfully. https://t.co/fbmVAqDoWI
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) December 20, 2019
Trump himself also claimed that Biden “gets angry” because “that’s what happens when you can’t get words out” - all while mimicking a stutter.
This isn’t the only time Biden gave sweet advice to children who experience challenges with their speech.
In February 2020, Biden told Brayden Harrington, a 13-year-old New Hampshire boy not to be defined by stuttering and that he’s “smart as hell.”
“I’m just a regular kid. And in the short amount of time, Joe Biden made me more confident about something that’s bothered me my whole life. Joe Biden cared,” Harrington said in CNBC Television video in August 2020.
