Joe Biden says there are '54 states' in latest election gaffe by US president
30 October 2022, 22:17
Joe Biden has sparked ridicule after saying there are '54 states' in the US - four more than there really are.
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The gaffe-prone US president, 79, made his latest error while on the campaign trail for the US mid-term elections.
Mr Biden was discussing how during the previous mid-terms, his Republican opponents had wanted to overturn Obamacare - otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act.
The Democrat president said: “And, of course, they’re going to try for the 499th time, or whatever the number is.
“They’re still determined to eliminate the Affordable Care Act.
"And, by the way, if they do that means, not a joke everybody, that’s why we defeated it in 2018 when they tried to do it. We went to 54 states,” he said at the event in Pennsylvania.
This is just the latest mistake Mr Biden has made recently, with some onlookers concerned about his mental fitness.
Read more: 'Congratulations Rashi Sanook:' Joe Biden mispronounces name as hails new PM
Earlier this week, he awkwardly mispronounced Rishi Sunak's name as he congratulated the former chancellor on becoming the UK's new Prime Minister.
Joe Biden awkwardly mispronounces Rishi Sunak's name
Speaking at the White House to celebrate the Indian holiday of Diwali, Mr Biden said the appointment of Mr Sunak, who is of Indian descent, was "significant".
Despite his well-wishes, Mr Biden awkwardly mumbled his words and appeared to pronounce the new prime minister's name as "Rashi Sunook" as audience members clapped.
He also appeared to zone out while asked by US reporters if he was planning to run again in the presidential elections in 2024.
Read more: President Biden appears to get lost in his own garden after White House event
He told MSNBC: "I have not made that formal decision but it's my intention . . . my intention to run again. And we have time to make that decision', the president began.
Joe Biden appears to get lost in garden
"Dr. Biden is for it?' the MSNBC interviewer asked, with the question meeting with silence.
The reporter continued to press him with virtually no reaction from Biden
Finally he said: "Dr. Biden thinks that uh, my wife thinks that uh, that I uh, that, that we're, that we're doing something very important."
