Times Joe Biden Has Slipped Up On His Words

The question on the minds of millions of Americans ahead of the 2024 United States election is whether or not President Joe Biden has what it takes to continue his re-election bid. The Pennsylvania native, who overcame a childhood stutter, has made headlines for his increasing number of gaffes during professional appearances, leaving many in his party to wonder if continuing his reign as the oldest president in history is feasible.

If Biden is granted a second term, he will be 82 years old at the time of his swearing-in, three years older than his opponent, Donald Trump. While the two nominees lack a substantial age gap, many Americans feel the former host of "The Apprentice" is miles ahead of Biden in tact, wit, and all-around stamina. Their point seemed to be proven after the president's disappointing performance in the 2024 first debate, after which Biden made amends by blaming lack of sleep on his lackluster debut.

Several congressional Democrats have called for Biden to bow out of the race in time to select a new candidate for the party. Even his former supporter and donor, George Clooney, seconded that notion in a shocking opinion piece for the The New York Times, writing, "We are not going to win in November with this president." Despite the calls for him to leave the ballot, Biden has refused to step aside. But here is a look at several times Joe Biden has had to put his foot in his mouth.

Joe Biden is no stranger to tripping up his own words, earning him a serious reputation for awkward public statements. The president added to his long list of blunders in 2019 during a speech on the campaign trail, comparing "poor kids" and "white kids."

"We have this notion that somehow if you're poor, you cannot do it," he said during an Iowa town hall with the Asian and Latino Coalition in 2019. "Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids." Seemingly noticing the slip-up, he quickly corrected himself and added, "Wealthy kids, black kids, Asian kids." The gaffe was quickly picked up and tweeted out by Donald Trump's campaign team at the team, with rapid response director Andrew Clark sharing a clip from the speech on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing, "Yikes...have fun mitigating that one."

Biden's then-campaign director Kate Bedingfield did damage control shortly after, clarifying he "misspoke and immediately corrected himself" (via ABC News). Trump couldn't resist responding, however, telling reporters at the White House at the time that his opponent was "not playing with a full deck."

It isn't exactly a good look for the sitting president to not remember the names of foreign leaders, especially when he gives them a shoutout during a speech. Don't put anything past Joe Biden, though, whose famous slip-ups are every bit of cringeworthy.

In a big announcement from the White House in 2021, the president spoke about the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., which allows the Australian government to purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from America. The only problem, however, was he couldn't seem to remember the name of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "Thank you, Boris," he said (via ABC News) as he mentioned U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had called in from London. Then, when turning to Morrison on the other screen, Biden said, "And I want to thank that, uh, fellow Down Under," adding, "Thank you very much, pal. Appreciate it, Mr. Prime Minister."

The awkward exchange lit up social media, with #ThatFellaDownUnder becoming a trending topic on X. While Biden did eventually address Morrison by name, viewers couldn't help but wonder if he fell victim to a bit of short-term memory loss. "'That fella down under' noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo that's so much worse than trumble," one ABC News contributor tweeted in all-caps at the time, referencing the time Donald Trump's former press secretary, Sean Spicer, mistakenly referred to the then-Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's surname as "Trumble."

March of 2022 brought another Joe Biden flub when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as the "first lady." During an Equal Pay Day event that year, the president misspoke when he was explaining his right-hand woman's absence. "There's been a little change in arrangement of who is on the stage because of the first lady's husband contracting COVID," Biden said during his speech (via the Independent), seemingly unaware of the slip-up.

When an audience member asked him whether or not he had fallen ill with COVID-19 as well, assuming he was speaking about Jill Biden, the president quickly clarified. "That's right, she's fine," he reported while motioning to wife Jill Biden nearby. "Second lady – the first gentleman, how about that?" He said, jokingly adding, "I'm Joe Biden. I'm Jill Biden's husband and proud of it." The word fumble was well received by the crowd, who laughed at the mix-up as the event carried on.

Joe Biden had the American people worrying during a speech in July 2022, but not about climate change — which was his original plan. He appeared in front of a crowd at Brayton Point Power Station in Massachusetts that month, hoping to announce his plan to fight the growing concerns of climate change around the globe. Instead, he had spectators concerned about his health.

During the speech, Biden recalled his childhood growing up in Delaware near oil refineries. "You had to put on your windshield wipers to get, literally, the oil slick off the window," he shared (via the White House transcript). "That's why I and so damn many other people I grew up [with] have cancer and why can — for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation."

White House Spokesperson Andrew Bates quickly assured the American public that there was no reason to fret. He confirmed on X that Biden was recalling a time when he had "non-melanoma skin cancers" removed before he was elected. Still, Biden's remarks made little sense according to his doctor, Kevin O'Connor's, 2021 summary of Biden's health. In the memo, O'Connor wrote that the president's skin cancer was partly attributed to the fact that he spent "a good deal of time in the sun in his youth." Republicans were quick to use Biden's remark as fuel, leading to a wealth of misinformation on social media.

President Joe Biden made more confusing statements in February 2023 while commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act. During his speech, he told audience members (via Fox News): "More than half the women of my cabinet, more than half the people of my cabinet, more than half the women in my administration are women." While it was obvious that the president was trying to comment on the number of women on his team, the blunder didn't go unnoticed by major news outlets and social media.

"The other half of the women are men?" one user wrote on Instagram sarcastically. "The motor is running, but there's no one behind the wheel," another viewer remarked. Biden's faux pas seemed to draw far more attention than his address, where he spoke of increasing the Child Care Development Block Grant which gives childcare aid to low-income families, according to the White House transcript from the event. 

President Joe Biden's history of gaffes continued into even more cringeworthy territory when he began confusing the former U.S. war in Iraq with the war between Russia and Ukraine. In a video clip posted by Firstpost in June 2023, the president was asked whether Vladimir Putin had "been weakened by recent events." Biden responded to the reporter by saying, "It's hard to tell but he's clearly losing the war in Iraq [and] he's losing the war at home."

But it wasn't the only time Biden had mixed up which countries were at war. About a year later, the president garbled his words yet again when speaking to the media at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France while celebrating D-Day's 80th anniversary. At the time, Biden was responding to reports that the U.S. had experienced a delay in sending further aid to Ukraine amid their plight against Russia.

"The idea that we become semi-isolationists now, which some are talking about — I mean, the idea we had to wait all those months just to get the money for Iraq that we — because we were waiting. I mean, it just — it just — it's not who we are. It's not who America is," Biden said (via Newsweek). The White House transcript of the speech corrected the mix-up, also clarifying that Biden meant to refer to the war in the Ukraine as opposed to Iraq.

In a key speech aimed to convince Republicans to support a bipartisan bill in February 2024, Joe Biden didn't seem to be on his A-game. At the time, the president was asking legislators to back an immigration and border deal that would give aid to Israel and Ukraine. But amid a hostile situation in Gaza involving the terrorist group, Hamas, and the hundreds of Israeli hostages that remained in captivity, reporters asked Biden for a status report.

"There's been a response from the opposition," Biden explained in a video posted by The Telegraph, before seemingly searching for the word "Hamas." After a reporter suggested the name of the terrorist group, Biden went on to clarify: "Yes, I'm sorry, from Hamas. But it seems to be a little over the top. We're not sure where it is. There's a continuing negotiation right now."

The mix-up came just days after Biden mistakenly referred to French President Emmanuel Macron with former President François Mitterrand, who died in 1996. "And Mitterrand, from Germany –- I mean, from France –- looked at me and said, said 'You know, what — why — how long you back for?'" Biden exclaimed during a campaign event in Las Vegas (via LeMonde). Once again, the White House transcript for the event was corrected for clarification to include Macron instead of Mitterrand.

Democrats were up in arms following the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season — and for good reason. Joe Biden made headlines after the face-off; He stumbled over many words, had long pauses, and used what many refer to as his raspy, "whisper voice" in response to many of Trump's jabs. In one eye-catching moment, Biden was heard saying "We finally beat Medicare," during a long-winded comment in response to a question about the national debt. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre admitted in a press conference (via AP) shortly after that he had intended to say "big pharma."

The president appeared unable to articulate clearly, even prompting Donald Trump to tease him when on the subject of border security. "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence," Trump responded (via CNN). "I don't think he knows what he said, either." A FiveThirtyEight poll posted after the event declared a landslide debate victory for Trump with 60% of voters in his favor.

Biden came to terms with the upset during a rally following the debate, telling the audience (via Politico): "I don't debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job, I know how to get things done."

Following what some referred to as a disastrous debate performance from Joe Biden in late June 2024, the sitting president had quite a lot of catching up to do on the campaign trail. But just when Democrats needed a confidence-builder, he simply couldn't deliver during an important solo press conference a few weeks later.

During the presser, a reporter asked Biden his thoughts on Vice President Kamala Harris' capabilities if she were to take over as the front-runner on the ticket. "Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president [if] I think she's not qualified to be president," Biden told the audience (via CNBC), mixing up Harris with his opponent, Donald Trump.

The blunder led to an array of Democrat representatives calling for a switch-up. "The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course," said Californian Congressman Scott Peters in a statement at the time (via CNBC). Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes seconded that, tweeting a statement that called on Biden to make way for a more promising candidate who can defeat an impending MAGA administration. Viewers chimed in about Biden's remarks in a YouTube video posted by CNN, and the consensus wasn't exactly swaying in his favor. "Forget the election, who is running the country now?" one user questioned.

In his latest edition of name mix-ups, Joe Biden had yet another faux-pas when mentioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the NATO summit held in Washington in July 2024, Biden mistakenly called Zelensky "President Putin" before catching himself.

"And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin," he said in his introduction (via Reuters). He went on to correct himself, remarking, "President Putin, you're going to beat President Putin, President Zelensky. I am so focused on beating Putin."

President Zelensky took the comments in stride, however, shaking hands with Biden and saying, "I am better [than Putin]." When asked about the mishap following the summit, Zelensky chalked it up to human error. "I think [the] United States gave a lot of support for Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes," he shared with the press (via CNN).

After former President Donald Trump's assassination attempt in July 2024, all eyes were on President Joe Biden and his response. The shocking incident shook up America, as viewers watched the Secret Service form a human shield around Trump after a bullet narrowly missed him, instead grazing his right ear. Biden delivered a key speech days after from the Oval Office, calling for peace and unity ahead of the contentious election.

While admitting he was thankful Trump was safe and healthy after the attempted attack, Biden made yet another famous blunder. "In America, we resolve our differences at the battle box," he said during his address (via The Telegraph), accidentally calling the ballot box a "battle box." He made the error again, saying, "You know that's how we do it, at the battle box. Not with bullets," he added. Biden later corrected himself on X, with his official page tweeting a statement with the revised "ballot box" wording alongside a video clip of the speech.

Joe Biden had a bit of regret about his choice of words in a private call with his National Finance Committee in early July 2024. CNN obtained a recording of the conversation between the president and key donors, in which he urged them to focus less on his presidency fitness and more on his opponent, Donald Trump. "We're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye," Biden said at the time.

That commentary didn't age well, however, especially when just days later Trump was the target of an attempted attack on his life during his rally speech in Pennsylvania. House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke to NBC News about the president's choice of words, calling on him to watch his tone during such a heated election season. "I mean, I know that he didn't mean what is being implied there," Johnson admitted, adding, "That kind of language on either side should be called out."

Biden called his wording "a mistake," clarifying that he used that verbiage to call for more attention to be placed on Trump. "I meant focus on him," he told Lester Holt in an interview with NBC News, adding, "Focus on what he's doing. Focus on his policies, focus on the lies he told in the debate."