Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, during an online fundraiser on Oct. 25, appeared to momentarily confuse President Donald Trump with former President George W. Bush, before correcting himself and finishing his statement that if Trump is reelected, “we’re going to be in a different world.”
Biden, with his wife, Jill, sitting beside him, told event moderators George Lopez and CNN analyst Ana Navarro that “this is the most consequential election in a long, long, long time.”
“The character of the country, in my view, is literally on the ballot, what kind of country we’re going to be,” Biden said. “Four more years of George, ah, George... we’re going to find ourselves in a position where if Trump gets elected, we’re going to be in a different world.”
Biden’s flub is one of a series he has made during his presidential campaign, including a recent misstatement made during an interview on “Pod Save America,” during which he said Democrats have put together a “voter fraud organization.”
“We’re in a situation where we have put together—and you guys did it for our admi ... the president, Obama’s administration before this—we have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organization in the history of American politics,” Biden said in a video that began circulating on social media on Oct. 24. Biden was likely referring to his campaign’s “election protection program.”
“What the president is trying to do is discourage people from voting by implying that their vote won’t be counted, it can’t be counted, we’re gonna challenge it, and all these things. If enough people vote, it’s going to overwhelm the system,” Biden said. He then urged people to call a number if they have difficulty voting. “Call that number. We have over a thousand lawyers.”
The president has repeatedly expressed concern that the massive expansion in mail-in balloting during this year’s general election carries a higher risk of voter fraud.
Both the Trump and Biden campaigns have assembled teams of lawyers for the possibility that the race for the White House ends up being adjudicated in court.
Attorneys for the Republicans and the Democrats have already clashed in courts across the country over mail-in ballot deadlines and other issues.
Both sides are informed by the experience of the 2000 election, which was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.
