Gaffe: Joe Biden Says He'll 'Appoint' First Black Woman to 'Senate'

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday committed yet another gaffe on the campaign trail, pledging to “appoint” the first black woman to the “Senate,” seemingly forgetting that two black women have served in the upper chamber.

“I’m looking forward to appointing the first African American woman to the United States Senate,” Biden, 77, said in a stump speech in Sumter, South Carolina, prompting cheers from supporters. Biden appeared to ignore that Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) served as the first black female senator from 1993 to 1999, while Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) was the second black woman to be elected to the upper chamber in 2017.

The confusing statement comes after Biden promised to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court if he wins the White House.

“When you’re get knocked down, get up, and everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity — no matter what, no matter who they are,” Biden said during this week’s Democrat presidential primary debate in Charleston. “Also, that everyone should be represented. No one is better than me and I’m no better than everyone else.”

“We talked about the Supreme Court — I’m looking forward to making sure there’s a black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we, in fact, get everyone represented,” the former vice president added.

It is unclear whether he mixed up the Senate and Supreme Court in his Friday remarks.

Biden’s confusing comment was one of a series of gaffes in recent days as the floundering White House candidate seeks to win Saturday’s South Carolina primary contest. The former vice president falsely claimed at this week’s debate that 150 million Americans have died from gun violence since 2007. Federal government data shows roughly 156,000 have died of firearm-related homicides.

On Monday, Biden mistakenly proclaimed that he is a “candidate for the United States Senate” and that people could “vote for the other Biden” if they prefer one of his White House rivals. Later that day, he falsely claimed that he worked on the 2016 Paris Climate Accord with former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who has been died for over 20 years.