President Joe Biden gave a cheery shout-out to a woman he mistakenly thought was a North Carolina congresswoman who wasn't even at the event, quickly admitting, "I got it mixed up."
The stumble came as Biden was speaking to an audience in the Tar Heel State on Thursday, touting his administration's economic agenda, when he confused a woman with whom he'd had his picture taken with for Rep. Deborah Ross, D-N.C., who wasn't there.
There was no immediate word on who the woman was who got the photo-op with Biden, the Washington Examiner reported.
But Biden called out an ID he did know.
"I want to mention Congresswoman Deborah Ross, where's Deborah? I just had my picture taken with her, that's probably why she left," Biden joked.
Then the president conceded: "Oh, she couldn't be here, actually. That's not true. I got it mixed up."
Biden's blunders have raised concern about his mental and physical ability to serve in the White House. The 81-year-old commander in chief is the oldest president in United States history.
In a September 2022 gaffe, for example, Biden asked, "Where's Jackie?" referring to the late Indiana GOP Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash the previous August. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later explained it was "top of mind for the president" when Biden made the slip.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in November 2023 found that 77% of respondents, including 65% of Democrats, said they believed Biden was too old to be president; 39% said they thought the president was mentally sharp enough to remain in the executive role.
"Our perspective is that it's not about age, it's about the president's experience," Jean-Pierre said. "We have to judge him by what he's done, not by his numbers."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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