President Joe Biden referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “President Harris” during a White House speech on Thursday about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re also supplying vaccines to community health centers to reach those who have been the hardest hit,” Biden said. “The hardest hit and suffered the most — especially black, Latino, Native American, and rural communities. This is really important because we believe that speed and efficiency must be matched with fairness and equity.”
“Now when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona, not long ago, one of the nurses on that tour injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope,” he continued. “A dose of hope. That’s how she phrased it.”
WATCH:
"President Harris" — Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/3clCdLxK3k
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 18, 2021
Biden did not correct himself during his remarks, according to a transcript provided by the White House.
“During the presidential campaign last year, then-President Donald Trump frequently accused Biden of being in mental decline and claimed Democrats would invoke the 25th Amendment to replace Biden with Harris,” The New York Post reported. “At a White House event this month, Biden appeared for forget the name of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, referring to him as ‘the guy who runs that outfit over there.'”
Biden continued in his speech:
Behind these 100 million shots are millions of lives changed when people receive that dose of hope. Grandparents can hug their grandchildren again. Frontline workers who can show up at their jobs without the same fear they used to have. Teachers — with the confidence to head back into the classroom.
These milestones are significant accomplishments, but we have much more to do. Much more to do. And the American Rescue Plan will help us do it.
In addition to the cash payments it provides to you and your families, it also provides the funds to add vaccinators, to supply more community vaccination — support more community vaccination centers, and increase testing.
It will help us accelerate nationwide efforts to reopen our schools safely. And as I told the nation last week, I’ve directed all states, tribes, and territories to make all adults eligible to be vaccinated no later than May the 1st. I’m glad to see that several states are already taking that step to make more and more Americans eligible, even before May 1st.
Tomorrow, we will hit 100 million doses our administration has administered. But I’ve always said: That’s just the floor. We will not stop until we beat this pandemic. Next week, I will announce our next goal to put shots in arms.
This is a time for optimism, but it’s not a time for relaxation. I need all Americans — I need all of you to do your part. Wash your hands, stay socially distanced, keep masking up as recommended by the CDC, and get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Now is not the time to let down our guard.