(Fox News) Just one day after President Biden delivered a State of the Union address many liberals said put to rest questions about his mental fitness, the president raised eyebrows with several gaffes in Pennsylvania.
Biden visited Strath Haven Middle School in Delaware County on Friday for his first swing state campaign stop after outlining his agenda to a joint session of Congress. There, he pitched his plans for a second White House term, promising to protect abortion rights, defending his economic record and calling for new gun control laws. He also made some unforced errors in his speech, which were ridiculed by Republicans.
“Pennsylvania, I have a message for you: Send me to Congress!” Biden shouted at one point, appearing to mix up the office he’s running for. He was a six-term U.S. senator representing Delaware in Congress before he became vice president in 2008.
Later in his remarks, Biden said, “we cut the deficit and we added more to the national debt than any president in his term in all of history, than under Donald Trump.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, accompanied with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden attends a campaign event, at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, United States on March 8, 2024. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Both comments were picked up by the Republican National Committee’s opposition research account and shared far and wide on X.
At another point, Biden mistakenly referred to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots as taking place on “July 6th,” and then corrected himself.
The gaffes illustrate how Biden, 81, must continue to fight off criticisms of his age and mental fitness from Republicans as the general election heats up.
The president did earn praise from many liberals for his “energetic” State of the Union performance on Thursday.
