President Joe Biden accidentally called Vice President Kamala Harris the ‘first lady’ during remarks on Equal Pay Day at the White House on Tuesday, and was later quick to joke about the blunder.
‘There’s been a little change in arrangement of who is on the stage because of the first lady’s husband contracting Covid,’ Biden had said, referencing Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, who had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier that day.
A member of the audience appears to have called out the slip up to the President, who went on to joke about the mistake and caused onlookers to chuckle in amusement.
The first husband had tested positive just before 6pm, while Harris, who spent the day with Biden before the remarks, tested negative.
‘That’s right,’ Biden chuckled before gesturing to his wife, Jill Biden. ‘She’s fine, it’s me that’s not to get it.’
Biden added: ‘And secondly, the first gentleman, how about that.’
Emhoff is the latest Democrat in Washington to test positive for the coronavirus. On Sunday, former President Barack Obama also shared that he had tested positive.
He began the remarks at the Women’s History Month celebration by introducing himself as the first lady’s husband.
Biden’s speech called for equal pay between men and women, and touted his administration’s efforts in closing the pay gap. On Tuesday, Biden signed an executive order promoting efforts to achieve equal pay.
On Tuesday the White House also confirmed the President’s plan to travel to Brussels next week for a meeting with NATO leaders. There, he will show US support for Ukraine following Russia’s unprovoked, and deadly, invasion.
While on the trip he is expected to join in on a scheduled European Council summit to discuss shared concerns over Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a news briefing.
The trip will provide an important opportunity for Biden to engage in face-to-face diplomacy with his European counterparts.
‘While he’s there, his goal is to meet in person face-to-face with his European counterparts and talk about, assess where we are at this point in the conflict in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We’ve been incredibly aligned to date,’ Psaki said.
An in-person meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet been planned, Psaki confirmed, adding that officials were still finalizing the details of Biden’s upcoming trip.
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