A gaffe during President Joe Biden's speech on Wednesday at the North America's Building Trades Unions conference has sparked jokes among conservatives across social media.
Biden and former President Donald Trump have clinched the presidential nominations for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, but a rematch of 2020 is unpopular, with voters routinely telling pollsters that they believe neither should get a second term. Hypothetical general election matchups have generally shown the two in a neck-and-neck race.
Questions relating to the age and mental fitness of Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, have been consistent talking points during the 2024 election. Biden's age has long been under scrutiny from critics across the political spectrum, with his verbal gaffes in speeches receiving particular attention. He has, however, often received acclaim for his energy and clarity in high-importance speeches, including his last two State of the Union addresses.
On Wednesday, Biden spoke at the 2024 North America's Building Trades Unions conference in Washington, D.C., after being endorsed for reelection by the group.
During the speech, in which Biden spoke about his reelection efforts, he said "pause" before the crowd erupted with "four more years."
"Imagine what we could do next, four more years. Pause," Biden said.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and Biden's campaign via email for comment.
The moment has made its way across social media as some conservatives have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to note the gaffe and scrutinize Biden over the moment.
Steve Cortes, a former adviser and spokesperson for Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns, took aim at Biden on X, writing: "Biden's teleprompter blunders would be funny if he weren't president. Here, he reads the "pause" instruction — such directions are clearly differentiated on his screen, usually with multiple parentheses, telling the speaker 'don't say this part'!!!"
Conservative radio host Clay Travis wrote on X: "Joe Biden read the instruction "pause" on the teleprompter. The guy is Ron Burgandy [sic]. He just keeps getting worse."
The Republican National Committee noted on X: "BIDEN, reading from his teleprompter: "Four more years? Pause?" It's all completely staged."
Biden has continued to dismiss concerns about his age and joked about his memory following the publication of Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on February 8 that described the president as an "elderly man with a poor memory."
Hur released the report following an investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents that were found at his home in Delaware and at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.
Biden criticized Hur's categorization of his memory, saying, "I'm well-meaning and I'm an elderly man, and I know what I'm doing," and added that he didn't need anyone to remind him when his son, Beau, died.
"My memory is fine," Biden said.
On the campaign trail, Trump has also made a series of gaffes that have been criticized.
Trump has mixed up Biden and former President Barack Obama's names several times during campaign stops. He confused Obama and Biden at least seven times between September and November of last year, according to Forbes.
Trump said he was being "sarcastic" when mixing up Obama and Biden.
After sharing on Truth Social in November a medical report saying that he's in excellent health and his cognitive health was exceptional, Trump began to receive pushback as some questioned the accuracy of the report.
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
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