United States President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to former President Donald Trump as Vice President on Thursday.
Biden made the gaffe while responding to the opening question of his highly-anticipated solo press conference in Washington.
Mistaking Vice President Kamala Harris for Trump, Biden said: “Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president [if] I think she’s not qualified to be president.
A reporter pointed out Biden’s mistake in the final question of the press conference, asking the president to comment on the blunder after Trump used it to mock him.
Biden smiled to himself and replied, “Listen to him,” before walking off stage.
Thursday’s press conference was billed as the best opportunity for Biden to prove to Democrats that he could handle tough questions and think on his feet in an unscripted environment.
Pressure for Biden to drop out of the 2024 race has escalated for weeks, following his disastrous debate performance against Trump on June 27 and his campaign’s subsequent failure to assuage voters’ concerns about his health.
Four minutes after he walked off stage, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, released a statement calling on Biden to exit the race.
Biden rigidly rejected any suggestion that he should or would drop out, insisting that there was no one more capable of beating Trump in November than he was.
Biden did, however, concede that he would consider exiting the race if his team came and told him there was “no way” he could win.