US President Joe Biden, seen at the White House, will meet the prime ministers of Australia and Britain to deepen cooperation
AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Biden mistakenly said gun laws would disarm 'domestic political advisors'
  • The White House corrected his speech in the transcript and replaced it with 'convicted domestic abusers'
  • Biden previously told an unusual story about the treatment he received from military nurse Pearl Nelson

President Joe Biden committed a major gaffe in his speech at an event to commemorate Women's History Month, forcing the White House to issue a correction.

Biden, who attended the event with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week, made the gaffe while touting his administration's work in the Violence Against Women Act.

"You know but this builds on other steps you've taken and we've taken, like the most significant gun safety law in 30 years to help keep guns out of the hands of domestic political advisors," the president said.

The White House later corrected his speech in the transcript, crossing out the last part and replacing it with "convicted domestic abusers."

"You know but this builds on other steps you've taken and we've taken, like the most significant gun safety law in 30 years to help keep guns out of the hands of domestic political advisors [convicted domestic abusers]," the transcript read.

His speech on violence against women was not the only gaffe he made throughout his presidency. Earlier this month, he told an unusual story about a nurse named Pearl Nelson at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center while speaking about healthcare policy in Virginia Beach.

"She'd come in and do things I don't think you learn in nursing school. She'd whisper in my ear, I couldn't understand, but she'd whisper, and she'd lean down and actually breathe on me to make sure there was a human connection," he said.

In early February, Biden was speaking on the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when he said that "more than half the women in my administration are women."

"More than half the women of my cabinet, more than half the people of my cabinet, more than half the women in my administration are women," Biden said.

In January, Biden falsely claimed in a speech that the administration funded "700,000 major construction projects" in 2022. His claim was later fact-checked by CNN, which found that the figure is 7,000. The White House corrected the transcript of the speech.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to media in Washington
Reuters