Cognitive concerns mount after Biden slip

In the latest faux pas, US president says ‘proud to be the first Black woman to serve with a Black president’

WASHINGTON:

Amid growing concerns and pressure over his cognitive decline, US President Joe Biden found himself in hot water again after a verbal slip-up.

Speaking to Philadelphia’s WURD radio station, the 81-year-old president said he was “proud” to be the “first Black woman to serve with a Black president.”

In his latest verbal blunder, Biden mixed up his words while referring to his vice president, Kamala Harris, and former president Barack Obama. “By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first Black woman, to serve with a Black president,” he said.

Biden likely got his wires crossed, as he had earlier mentioned being the first vice president to serve under a Black president. He also spoke about being the first president to have a Black woman as vice president and appointing Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

This slip-up comes hot on the heels of Biden’s recent debate with former US president Donald Trump, which was littered with verbal gaffes and confusing statements.

Biden is now under increasing pressure to bow out of the presidential race. A poll by Reuters and Ipsos revealed that one in three Democrats think Biden should step aside.

On Friday, Biden also misspoke in front of a crowd of supporters while trying to put to bed concerns over his age and cognitive abilities, insisting that his rival Donald Trump also makes gaffes.

Biden opened his speech in Madison, Wisconsin, with a dig at Trump, recalling how the former president once claimed in a Fourth of July speech that the Continental Army “took over the airports” from the British.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can: I’m staying in the race! I’ll beat Donald Trump; I will beat him again in 2020!” Biden declared to loud cheers and applause from the crowd.

Realising his mistake, he corrected himself five seconds later, saying, “And by the way, we’re going to do it again in 2024,” met with a lone “Yeah!” from the crowd.

In an interview with ABC News aired later that day, Biden sidestepped questions about whether he would take a neurological test to prove his fitness for the job, stating that his busy schedule of “campaigning” and “running the world” serves as a daily cognitive test for him. As Biden tries to stay in the game, his verbal gaffes continue to fuel debates about his capability to lead, with calls for him to take a more comprehensive cognitive test growing louder.

Biden defiant, but critics are circling

Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s presidential re-election bid hung in the balance Saturday, after efforts to put a disastrous debate showing behind him failed to silence voices urging that he quit the White House race.

In what had been billed as a make-or-break TV interview on Friday, Biden’s strategy was to flatly deny the falling poll numbers and concerns over his mental and physical fitness triggered by his dismal performance against rival Donald Trump.

He blamed a severe cold for the debate debacle and insisted it was just a “bad night” rather than evidence of increasing frailty and cognitive decline.

And the 81-year-old was adamant that he would not be pressured to end his campaign.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” he said. “But the Lord Almighty is not coming down.” Calls for less divine intervention do, however, appear to be strengthening.

Murmurs of dissent within his own Democratic party have -- in the case of five individual House representatives --  morphed into direct calls to quit, and a number of key donors have threatened to cut off funding if Biden insists on staying the course. (With input from AFP)