US President Joe Biden made another apparent gaffe during his speech at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's (NAACP) Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit on Sunday.
The 81-year-old president mistakenly announced to the audience that he was Vice President "during the pandemic," despite the COVID-19 outbreak starting in March 2020 under former President Donald Trump. Mr Biden, campaigning for the presidential role at the time, has not held the vice-presidential position since 2016.
Addressing the audience, Joe Biden said, "When I was vice president, things were kinda bad during the pandemic," claiming that former President Barack Obama told him to "go to Detroit and help fix it."
Needless to say, the internet reacted to this blunder.
Sharing this video to social media platform X, a user wrote, “This dementia patient has the nuclear codes.”
"When I was vice president, things were kinda bad during the pandemic..." - Joe Biden
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 20, 2024
This dementia patient has the nuclear codes.pic.twitter.com/ONUGpEYgjh
A user informed, “For those who don't know, Mike Pence was vice president during the pandemic.”
NEW: President Joe Biden appears to think he was vice president during the pandemic, says Obama told him to go to Detroit to fix it.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 20, 2024
Wow, these debates should be fun.
For those who don't know, Mike Pence was vice president during the pandemic.
"When I was vice president,… pic.twitter.com/iSawVdcOgm
Someone else claimed, “His brain is mush. I don't even know what he could be trying to say here.”
Joe Biden says he was Vice President during covid and President Obama sent him to Detroit to fix it. His brain is mush. I don't even know what he could be trying to say here: pic.twitter.com/xHE9Ln4ypn
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 20, 2024
A user joked, “He must mean he was VP when COVID was *created*.”
He must mean he was VP when COVID was *created*.
— Merianne Jensen (@MerianneJensen) May 20, 2024
A confused user stated, “How does this happen? Isn't he reading from a teleprompter? Is this language on the teleprompter or is he so far gone he can't even read off a teleprompter?”
How does this happen? Isn't he reading from a teleprompter? Is this language on the teleprompter or is he so far gone he can't even read off a teleprompter?
— Rich W. (@Rollerball70) May 20, 2024
President Biden's recent slip-up adds to an increasingly lengthy string of misstatements. In April, he appeared to confuse the January 6 Capitol riots with D-Day when reminding a crowd not to "forget the dark days of June 6," later correcting, "January 6th, excuse me."
That same month, there were instances where he appeared to be reading from a teleprompter during speeches.
In February, a report by former special counsel Robert Hur criticised President Biden for forgetting important events, including his son Beau's death. Transcripts from the interview showed Mr Biden struggling to recall key dates and even asking a White House lawyer to remind him when his son died, as per Forbes.
The transcripts also revealed Mr Biden's confusion about his tenure as vice president, under former President Obama, reportedly asking, “When did I stop being vice president?”
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