Former President Biden Returns to the Spotlight at LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference
Washington, D.C. – December 5, 2025
Former President Joe Biden stepped back into the national conversation Friday when he delivered the keynote address at the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference, an annual gathering hosted by the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
The 83-year-old, who has kept a deliberately low profile since leaving office in January and beginning treatment for prostate cancer in May, received a prolonged standing ovation as he took the stage to accept the Chris Abele Impact Award—an honor recognizing what the Victory Institute called “the most pro-equality administration in American history.”
Speaking to a ballroom packed with more than 700 elected officials, activists, and advocates from across the country and around the world, Biden urged the movement not to retreat in the face of recent setbacks.
“We just have to get up,” he said, his voice steady and familiar. “As long as we keep the faith and remember who the hell we are.”
He highlighted milestones from his presidency—the Respect for Marriage Act, the reinstatement of transgender military service, and a record number of openly LGBTQ+ appointees—while warning that rights once considered secure are again under threat.
“This is not the time to shrink from the fight,” Biden told the crowd. “This is the time to stand taller than ever.”
Near the end of his 18-minute remarks, as he built to an emotional close, Biden declared with force:
“We’re the United States of—”
He briefly stumbled over the word, producing something that sounded to many like “Amerigotit” before quickly correcting himself: “That’s who we are! We’re the United States!”
The moment was immediately clipped and shared across social media. Within minutes it was trending nationwide, drawing a mix of laughter, concern, and the predictable wave of memes.
Conservative commentators pounced, framing the slip as evidence of cognitive decline. Supporters were just as quick to note Biden’s lifelong stutter and to point out that he powered through without missing a beat, finishing with a forceful call for continued resistance against what he described as efforts to “turn love into something scary.”
Applause in the room, which had paused for a split second, quickly swelled again as he left the stage.
For many in attendance, the viral clip was an unfortunate distraction from a speech they found reaffirming and necessary. Others saw the gaffe itself as humanizing—a reminder that the fight for equality has never been about perfect rhetoric, but about persistence.
As one longtime advocate put it afterward: “He showed up when a lot of people thought he wouldn’t. That matters more than any single syllable.”
Friday’s appearance marked one of Biden’s most visible public moments since his cancer diagnosis, and it underscored that—health challenges and viral stumbles notwithstanding—he still intends to lend his voice to the causes he spent four years championing from the White House.
