Joe Biden described himself as a black woman during a radio interview flub, as calls mount for the 81 year-old president to drop his re-election bid.
The gaffe-prone president, 81, stumbled over his words during Thursday’s interview with Philadelphia’s WURD, seemingly mixing himself up with his Vice President Kamala Harris.
‘By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first black woman… to serve with a black president. Proud to be involved of the first black woman on the Supreme Court. There’s so much that we can do because, look… we’re the United States of America.’
Biden appeared to be highlighting his appointment of Kamala Harris as the United States first black female vice president.
Confusingly, he himself was previously vice president, which is likely what he was referring to in ‘to serve with a black president.’
The reference to the Supreme Court concerns Ketanji Brown-Jackson, the first black female justice, who was appointed by Biden in 2022.
The president sat down with black radio hosts in Milwaukee and Philadelphia for his first post-debate interviews following a disastrous fallout in the week since.
His gaffe has since set the worlds of media and politics alight – with the New York Times among the prestigious liberal publications highlighting it.
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Biden admitted that he had a ‘bad debate’ last week but argued it didn’t outweigh what he’s done in office.
‘I had a bad debate. But 90 minutes on stage doesn’t erase what I’ve done for three and a half years,’ he told WURD’s Andrea Lawful-Sanders.
Biden repeated the argument he’s made since his terrible debate performance – that one bad night doesn’t erase his record as president.
His interview with WURD lasted slightly less than 15 minutes. After the one question on the debate, Lawful-Sanders asked questions on Biden’s record with black Americans.
Biden is scheduled to sit down with ABC News on Friday in Wisconsin.
The president is set to hold Fourth of July festivities at the White House Thursday evening with his and his party’s future on the line amid growing pressure to step down after last week’s debate performance.
It comes after the first elected Democrats came forward to urge Biden to step back, with just weeks to go before his party’s convention in Chicago.
With fury over White House messaging since Biden stumbled his way through his debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta, the president reassured governors in a private meeting about his health and political viability – even telling them about a recent check up that had him in good health.
That came shortly after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged direct questions during a contentious press briefing about whether Biden had been evaluated since Thursday’s debate.
Biden is set to set to host veteran families, caregivers, and survivors, at an event that will put him back on the public stage, before the crucial interview with ABC interview is set to start airing Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris will be there.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
