Hours after President Joe Biden mistakenly introduced Ukraine’s leader as “President Putin,” he made another gaffe, this time calling his own running mate “Vice President Trump.”
During a live Q&A session on Thursday, Biden was asked about Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances to beat former President Donald Trump in an election. In his response, he made an error that quickly went viral.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, so I don’t think she’s not qualified to be president. So let’s start there,” said Biden, later adding: “The fact is that the consideration is that I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again.”
The internet quickly mocked the president, with “Kamala Trump” trending on X (formerly Twitter) and generating tens of thousands of reactions.
Trump himself reacted on Truth Social: “Crooked Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ Press Conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president.’ Great job, Joe!”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia joined the ridicule, posting three cry-laugh emojis in response to a LibsOfTikTok post showing a photo with Harris’s face superimposed over Trump’s.
“Bro ….,” quipped @wizardofsoho. “Did Biden just call Kamala Trump now? After calling Zelensky Putin ?????”
“No Joe, I have never been Vice President Trump, your Vice President is Kamala Harris, not Kamala Trump,” wrote the parody account @realDonParody. “COOKED…”
“Biden just called Kamala ‘Trump’ in his speech,” wrote @ClownWorld_, adding facepalm and cry-laugh emojis.
“This mad old sod just called Kamala ‘Trump,’” wrote @DUNDERDEATH.
As the mockery and reactions continue to pour in, Biden’s gaffe highlights the challenges he faces in maintaining a polished public image. While such slip-ups are often shrugged off as simple mistakes, they provide ample fodder for critics and opponents to question his mental acuity and fitness for office. The incident underscores the heightened scrutiny Biden is under as he prepares for a potential re-election campaign, where every word and action will be closely watched and dissected by both supporters and detractors.