On Sunday, President Joe Biden unwittingly attempted to rewrite history during a campaign event hosted by the NAACP, asserting that he was vice president during the Covid-19 pandemic—a period that commenced long after his vice-presidential tenure under Barack Obama ended in January 2017.
The 81-year-old’s startling claim contradicted the well-documented fact that Mike Pence was, in fact, the vice president during the pandemic under President Donald Trump.
“Things were kind of bad during the pandemic,” Biden stated. “And what happened was, Barack said to me, go to Detroit and we’ll fix it.” The odd recollection muddled actual events, as it was during the 2008 financial crisis—not the pandemic—when Biden and Obama were in office.
The flub occurred during Biden’s speech at Morehouse College, a prestigious all-male historically black institution. The event was already shadowed by controversy; some faculty and students had pledged to boycott or protest the president’s appearance. A group of graduates expressed their frustration by turning their backs as Biden spoke about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
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While delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College, Biden also claimed that black Americans need to be “ten times better than anyone else to get a fair shot.”
“You missed your high school graduation. You started college just as George Floyd was murdered, and there was a reckoning on race. It’s natural to wonder if the democracy you hear about actually works for you,” Biden said. “What is democracy? If black men are being killed in the street. What is democracy? Betrayal of broken promises still leave black communities behind. What is democracy? You have to be ten times better than anyone else to get a fair shot.”
“I never thought when I was graduating in 1968, as your honorary just was, we talked about, I never thought I’d be in a present time when there’s a national effort to ban books. Not to write history, but to erase history!” the president exclaimed. “They don’t see you in the future of America, but they’re wrong.”
Biden also bragged about sidestepping the U.S. Supreme Court by forgiving billions of dollars worth of student loans. “When the Supreme Court told me I couldn’t, I found two other ways to do it,” he said. At the end of the event, Biden was presented with an “honorary degree” before he shuffled off the stage and made a quick exit. Sunday’s address follows a campaign event in Atlanta on Saturday where Biden once again pandered to black voters.
Polls have reflected this estrangement, indicating a decline in Biden’s support among black Americans—a crucial demographic that significantly contributed to his previous election victories. According to an April survey from NBC News, Biden leads Trump among black voters with a 71% to 13% advantage, a massive decrease from 2020 highs. Black voter enthusiasm also appears to be down, as just 59% of black voters said they had significant interest in the 2024 election, down from 74% who said the same four years ago at a similar point in the race.
As the 2024 elections loom, mounting missteps could present substantial challenges for Biden. His opponents are likely watching closely, ready to pounce on any further blunders in the upcoming debates.