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While President Joe Biden’s support wanes, Vice President Kamala Harris is facing growing calls to replace him on the Democratic party ticket in November’s election.
And it seems that all the chatter may be front and center of her mind.
In a potentially telling verbal gaffe, Harris slipped up and almost called Biden “vice president“ before swiftly correcting herself as the pair put on a united front at a July 4 event at the White House.
“We give thanks to our commander-in-chief, the vice… the president of the United States! The extraordinary president of the United States Joe Biden,” she told the crowd.
Standing alongside First Lady Jill Biden, the president appeared not to notice the slip-up and accepted the applause.
He jovially wished the crowd a happy Independence Day, appearing nonchalant in the face of a tirade of calls for him to step aside and hand the ticket to his vice president.
It was something of a day riddled with gaffes, coming just hours after Biden declared himself the “first Black woman” to “serve with a Black president” in a radio interview.
“By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first Black woman… to serve with a Black president,” he said in a stumble on local Philadelphia radio station Wurd on Thursday.
Biden appeared to be highlighting his appointment of Harris as the first Black vice president as well as first woman to hold the job.
To round off a trio of Biden-Harris gaffes, the president once again stumbled while giving a four-minute address during a barbecue for military families on the White House South Lawn earlier in the day.
In the remarks, the president appeared to refer to Donald Trump, his 2024 election rival running for the Republican ticket, as “one of four colleagues”.
It comes after a tough week as the president tries to claw back some favor among both his party and voters following his dismal debate showing versus Trump last week.
Since the debate, Biden’s popularity has slipped in the polls, with Trump now leading the president by six points in a poll commissioned by The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Harris’ popularity is on the rise as a replacement for the current incumbent, finding favor with both the public, a divided Democratic party and even (though be it sarcastically) Trump – who paid “respects” to his potentially “new Democrat Challenger”.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll find 81 per cent of potential voters view her favorably compared to 78 per cent for Biden.
Biden campaign staffers said that they are preparing to shift their focus to elevating, then electing, Harris, people informed with the matter told The Independent earlier this week.
Yet, the president remains bullish in his stance that no one else will be running for the Democratic ticket.
“I’m the nominee of the Democratic Party. No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving," Biden said in a call to the broader campaign, a source told BBC News.
He was also quick to quash claims of declining health, declaring to 20 senior governors on Wednesday that he was well following a medical assessment, reported Politico.
