The Time Joe Biden Awkwardly Mistook Kamala Harris For His Wife Jill Biden
Throughout his presidency, President Joe Biden has had multiple situations where he's gotten his words mixed up. In one example, Joe's slip of the tongue had First Lady Jill Biden scratching her head because he got Jill and Vice President Kamala Harris switched around.
The incident happened in March 2022, during an Equal Pay Day speech for Women's History Month. Harris' husband, Doug Emoff, had contracted COVID-19 at the time, so he and Harris were not at the event. Joe started his speech strongly with, "I'm Joe Biden. I'm Jill Biden's husband and proud of it." However, a little later in his speech, Biden said, "There's been a little change in arrangement of who is on the stage because of the first lady's husband contracting Covid." Of course, "the first lady's husband" is Joe himself.
Someone interrupted Joe to point out his mistake. "That's right, she's fine," gesturing to Jill. "It's me that's not together." The crowd laughed as Joe said, "The second lady — the first gentleman, how about that?" Although Joe smiled, and the audience laughed off his slip-up, it was pretty awkward and one of many similar mistakes.
Biden has called Harris the president multiple times
In another example of President Joe Biden misspeaking when discussing Vice President Kamala Harris, he accidentally gave her a promotion and introduced her with his own job title. In a Biden gaffe from January 2022 that got people talking, he said, "Last week, President Harris and I stood in the United States Capitol to observe one of those before and after moments in American history."
In the comments of the clip uploaded to Forbes' YouTube channel, people didn't hold back from criticizing Biden's mistake. One person said, "What a senile old fool. On the other hand, he may be a legitimate seer who is telling us something about the near future."
That same "President Harris" mistake has happened more than once. Fox News shared a video of Biden saying it while commemorating the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team's 2023 Stanley Cup win. He said, "President Harris is here to make sure we do this the right way." The outlet also reported that Biden calling Harris the president has happened at least six times. Biden is the oldest sitting president, and some have expressed concerns about him continuing to lead.
Biden says he has no memory problems
An incident regarding the mishandling of classified files caused President Joe Biden to be investigated. A report written by Robert Hur determined Joe wouldn't be charged but called the president's memory into question. Hur's report said Joe's "memory was significantly limited" based on various interviews. Hur also claimed Joe couldn't remember the dates of his vice presidency or his son Beau Biden's death.
In a speech at the White House, Joe fired back at those assertions, saying his memory wasn't an issue. A speech expert told Women Lifestyle Joe made it clear Hur crossed the line with questions about his memory. The president explained that he did a "five-hour in-person interview over two days ... even though Israel had just been attacked by Hamas on the 7th and I was very occupied. It was in the middle of handling an international crisis." Joe also expressed anger at the insinuation he didn't remember when Beau passed away. After a reporter quoted Hur's report, Joe replied, "I am well-meaning. And I'm an elderly man. And I know what the hell I'm doing."
Later, while answering questions, Joe mixed up his words, calling the president of Egypt the president of Mexico. However, Kamala Harris slammed Hur's report as false. In a speech, she said, "The way that the president's demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated. Gratuitous."