Joe Biden calls Donald Trump as his ‘colleague’ at White House July 4th ceremony, later regrets

Joe Biden makes several gaffes during White House Fourth of July celebration, appearing confused and losing his train of thought despite using a teleprompter.

During the official Fourth of July celebration at the White House, President Joe Biden made several gaffes, appeared confused at times, and greeted the crowd with an unexpected “Ho ho ho! Happy Independence Day!”

US President Joe Biden arrives for a Fourth of July celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 4, 2024. Biden's reelection campaign limped into the US Independence Day holiday, exhausted by a week of the incumbent clawing to maintain his hold on his party's nomination. Photographer: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

The POTUS, accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, addressed the attendees with a brief holiday statement.

Harris introduced Biden as the “extraordinary” president before he delivered his short speech, wishing everyone a happy Independence Day.

Despite looking more energetic than he did during his much-criticized CNN debate performance on June 27, Biden’s remarks were not much clearer, even though they were delivered more loudly: “We gotta do what our founders did: show the world we’re a nation of dignity, honour, and just devotion to one another,” and asked the audience to enjoy the fireworks.

Biden loses train of thought despite using a teleprompter

While descending the stage, Biden suddenly paused mid-step, appearing uncertain about whom to hand the microphone to. After a few slow steps across the stage alone, he eventually handed the mic to a stagehand and carefully descended a short flight of stairs to mingle with the crowd.

Earlier in the day, Biden gave a very brief speech at a White House barbecue, where he appeared to lose his train of thought and made several confusing statements. He bizarrely claimed that highway congestion no longer exists and almost referred to his political adversary, Donald Trump, as his “colleague.”

He quickly abandoned this line of thought, admitting, “I probably shouldn’t even say that … anyway,” in front of a crowd of military service members and their families.

Despite using a teleprompter, Biden’s four-minute speech was marked by several instances of trailing off and slurring his words. He focused on his visit to Normandy last month to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and honour the “heroes” who sacrificed their lives for democracy.

Biden claimed he was “in and out of battle” during his trip to Normandy, a statement he cut short before pivoting with his usual segue: “Anyway.”

The 81-year-old also made a comparison between World War I and the current presidential race, questioning whether Americans would be willing to make similar sacrifices in his race against Trump. “By the way, I was in that World War I cemetery in France, and one that my colleagues, the former president, didn’t want to go and be up there,” he said.

“One last thing, and I used to think when I was a senator, there were always congestion on the highways. There’s no congestion anymore. We go on the highway; there’s no congestion,” the POTUS concluded.