Joe Biden is facing further calls to step aside in the US presidential race after mixing up his words to call himself a “black woman” during a radio interview.
The US president, 81, has become increasingly gaffe prone as the election campaign rumbles on and after he made a shaky performance during a CNN TV debate with rival Donald Trump.
During an interview with WURD radio in Philadelphia, Mr Biden expressed his pride at working with Vice President Kamala Harris but stumbled over his words to provide an unfortunate gaffe.
He said on Thursday: “By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first black woman… to serve with a black president.
“[I am] proud to be involved with the first black woman on the Supreme Court,” he added, in reference to Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
“There’s so much that we can do because, look… we’re the United States of America.”
Campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa said later: “It was clear what President Biden meant when he was talking about his historic record, including a record number of appointments to the federal bench. This is not news and the media has passed the point of absurdity here.”
The CNN debate on June 27 ended with two thirds of voters thinking that Mr Trump had performed more strongly.
At one point Mr Biden made an unfocused point and finished his remarks by making the seemingly irrelevant comment: “We finally beat Medicare.”
Donors are now reportedly looking to drop out of supporting Mr Biden.
Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy Disney, is one of those to have pledged allegiance elsewhere.
She said: “I intend to stop any contributions to the party unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket. This is realism, not disrespect.”
It would be a tricky and unprecedented job for the Democratic Party to take him off the ballot for November’s vote.
But if he were to drop out, Kamala Harris would be a top choice to take his place on the ticket, while other favourites would include Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama.
Despite increased worries about the president’s age - and unproven comments from Mr Trump that he has already thrown in the towel - Mr Biden has vowed to press on.
“We understand the concerns. We get it,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week.
But she emphasised Mr Biden has no intention of stepping away from the campaign. “The president is clear-eyed and he is staying in the race.”
