Joe Biden was caught making another public blunder when he claimed that he was the vice president during the pandemic.
The 81-year-old President told an NAACP campaign event in Michigan that things got "kind of bad" when he allegedly held the role during the coronavirus outbreak - despite finishing his tenure as Barack Obama's VP in 2017.
He also said that the 44th President told him to go to Detroit to help with the response - even though the virus began spreading three years after his position ended.
"When I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic," Biden said near the beginning of his remarks.
Joe Biden in cringiest gaffe to date as he claims he was vice president during Covid
Reuters
"And, what happened was Barack said to me: ‘Go to Detroit – help fix it.’"
Referring to Detroit Democratic mayor Mike Duggan, Biden said: "Well, the poor mayor, he’s spent more time with me than he ever thought he’s gonna have to!"
Throughout the speech, Biden went on to criticise his presidential rival Donald Trump, specifically his role in controlling the virus: "We will never forget him lying about how serious the pandemic was, telling Americans ‘just inject bleach’ – I think that's what he did. I think that's why he's so screwy."
Biden, who frequently misspeaks and makes blunders in public, has referred to himself as a "gaffe machine".
MORE BIDEN GAFFES:
Joe Biden speaking in Michigan earlier that day
Reuters
Last month, a review of official White House records discovered that Biden had made at least 148 gaffes and public blunders from January 1 and April 24.
The 81-year-old President has stumbled in 118 statements, speeches or comments made in the first four months of the year – meaning that there were more errors to correct than those made in official announcements.
Communications personnel had to make the edits in order to align Biden’s words with his public policy stances.
In some cases, staff had to alter his statements entirely to convey the exact opposite of what Biden actually said.
The 81-year-old held the position of Vice President from 2009 until 2017 under Barack Obama
Getty
The latest series of blunders comes as 86 per cent of American voters believe Biden is too old to sit in the Oval Office amid concerns over his cognitive state.
The 81-year-old was forced to step in after special counsel Robert Hur's report that highlighted the president's "significantly limited" memory over a probe into the 46th President’s classified documents.
"My memory is fine," he insisted in a White House briefing. Biden gave an emotional response to a claim he could not recollect when his son died, saying: "How the hell dare he raise that?"
In September 2023, a rival party filed for a conservatorship for the President.
The US Libertarian Party filed for conservatorships for Biden, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel, 81, referring to them as "geriatric elites".
A conservatorship is appointed by a judge when a person is unable to make decisions for themselves, so another individual is given decision-making powers on their behalf.