Joe Biden mistakenly says he spoke to hostage found dead

US President Joe Biden has suffered another gaffe after appearing to mistakenly say he spoke to a dead US hostage. Watch video.

Joe Biden appears to have become confused after saying he “spoke to” the US hostage who was found dead in a Hamas tunnel on Saturday.

The US president was asked if he had a message for the family of six hostages discovered dead in a Gaza tunnel by the Israel Defense Forces – including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

“I’ve spoken to the American hostage,” Mr Biden said in apparent reference to Goldberg-Polin.

US President Joe Biden (R) is greeted by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (L) upon arrival at Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Picture: AFP

“I spoke to his mum and dad, and we’re not giving up. We’re going to continue to push as hard as we can.”

Mr Biden did speak to the Goldberg-Polin family on Sunday after their loved one was identified as one of the dead hostages.

“I am devastated and outraged,” he wrote in a statement after meeting with the family, adding, “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to board Air Force Two to travel to Detroit and Pittsburgh for campaign events. Picture: AFP

It comes as Mr Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaigned together for the first time Monday local time, in a public display of teamwork after she replaced him as candidate and revived Democratic election hopes.

Seeking to attract voters in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, the pair met union members in Pittsburg before standing side-by-side to speak to about 600 supporters.

US President Joe Biden steps off Marine One to meet with the US hostage negotiating team before hitting the campaign trail with VP Harris. Picture: AFP

The US president repeatedly name-checked Vice President Harris, who is in a close race to beat Donald Trump to the White House on November 5.

“We have made a lot of progress, and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress, and she’s going to build on it,” Mr Biden said.

“I’ll be on the sidelines, but I’ll do everything I can to help.”
The Labor Day event at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union underlined how Mr Biden will play a role in the campaign in the final months before the vote.

US President Joe Biden and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris hold a campaign rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Picture: AFP

Mr Biden, 81, initially resisted bowing out of the presidential race after his disastrous debate performance against Mr Trump, but he has since swung behind Ms Harris, 59.

“There’s only one person you have a rational choice with this time - that’s Kamala Harris,” he said to cheers.

“I know her. I trust her,” he added. “She has a backbone like a ramrod, and the compass of a saint.

“This woman knows what she’s doing. I promise you, if you elect Kamala Harris as president, it will be the best decision you will have ever made.”

US President Joe Biden (L) listens as US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (C) speaks during a campaign rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Picture: AFP

Before the Pittsburgh rally, Mr Biden and Ms Harris received a briefing at the White House on ceasefire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas war.

The meeting was added to their schedules after six hostages were killed in Gaza over the weekend, including a US citizen.

After the briefing, Ms Harris headed to Detroit, Michigan for another event with union leaders, before joining Mr Biden in Pittsburgh.

Mr Walz was separately to hold an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while Mr Trump and his VP pick J.D. Vance had stops scheduled for later in the week.

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STAR BREAKS SILENCE ON BIDEN

George Clooney has heaped praise on Joe Biden for being “selfless” months after the actor wrote an opinion piece urging the US president to drop out of the election race.

The Hollywood A-lister compared the US president to George Washington in his first comments since he wrote the New York Times piece in July after Mr Biden’s debate against Donald Trump.

Clooney became one of the most high-profile celebrities and Democrats to call on Biden to end his campaign in the article, titled “I love Joe Biden, but We Need a New Nominee”.

“The person who should be applauded is the president, who did the most selfless thing that anybody’s done since George Washington,” Clooney said during an interview at the Venice Film Festival on the weekend.
“All the machinations that got us there, none of that’s gonna be remembered, and it shouldn’t be,” Clooney, 63, added, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Clooney added that he didn’t want all that to become what history remembers.

Actor George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney attend the red carpet of the movie "Wolfs" presented out of competition during the 81st International Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. Picture: AFP

“What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who … you know, it’s very hard to let go of power. We know that. We’ve seen it all around the world,” he said.

“And for someone to say, ‘I think there’s a better way forward,’ all the credit goes to him, and that’s really the truth,” Clooney said.

In his essay, Clooney noted the toll age had taken on the US president.

“The one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate,” Clooney wrote in the Times.

“Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw.

“Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024,” Clooney concluded in urging the prez to step aside.

TRUMP BLAMES HARRIS FOR ISRAELI HOSTAGE DEATHS

Former US president Donald Trump has ramped up his verbal attacks on opponent Kamala Harris as the race to the White House ticks down.

Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to slam Harris and effectively blame her for the brutal murder of six Israeli hostages over the weekend.

The Republican candidate posted:

“The Hostage Crisis in Israel is only taking place because Comrade Kamala Harris is weak and ineffective, and has no idea what she’s doing. I look forward to seeing her at the Debate! Biden failed, and now he spends his day on the beach, plotting and scheming how to take out his once Political Opponent, ME, who took him out both at the Debate, and otherwise.

THE OCTOBER 7th ISRAELI CRISIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT!”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and his wife Sara (R) being welcomed by former US President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on July 26, 2024. Picture: Israeli Government Press Office / AFP

Harris tweeted that she had phoned the parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin who was killed along with five others to express her condolences over his murder in captivity at the hands of Hamas militants.

“Doug and I just spoke to Jon and Rachel, Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents, to express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists. My heart breaks for their pain and anguish,” VP Harris tweeted.

‘DISRESPECTED SACRED GROUND’: HARRIS SLAMS TRUMP

Earlier, VP Harris took aim at rival Trump over the recent controversy involving his campaign team at Arlington National Cemetery, saying the military burial site is “not a place for politics”.

Ms Harris slammed Mr Trump in a post on social media, writing that he “disrespected sacred ground, all for the sake of a political stunt” during his appearance at an event honouring the 13 US soldiers killed during the US withdrawal form Afghanistan in 2021.

The US Army said a Trump staffer “abruptly pushed aside” a cemetery employee who was trying to warn his team about rules against filming in the famed cemetery.

Ms Harris wrote that she had visited Arlington National Cemetery several times and would never use the site for political gain.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, in Savannah, Georgia, has slammed Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

Former US president Donald Trump looks on during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

“If there is one thing on which we as Americans can all agree, it is that our veterans, military families, and service members should be honoured, never disparaged, and treated with nothing less than our highest respect and gratitude,” Ms Harris said.

“And it is my belief that someone who cannot meet this simple, sacred duty should never again stand behind the seal of the President of the United States of America.”

Mr Trump hit back at criticism over the incident at a campaign rally in Michigan last week, saying he had been asked to pose for a photo at the site after the memorial by family members of the soldiers who had died.

“I go there, they ask me to have a picture and they say I was campaigning,” Mr Trump said. “The one thing I get plenty of is publicity. I don’t need that. I don’t need the publicity.”

The Trump campaign has disputed the cemetery’s version of events and said it received permission from the families of the fallen soldiers to film.

WALZ’S BROTHER LASHES OUT

The older brother of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has warned the Minnesota governor is not the “type of character” who should make decisions about America’s future.

“I’m 100 per cent opposed to all his ideology,” Jeff Walz said of his younger brother, who he has not spoken to for eight years.

The brother of Governor Tim Walz has spoken out. Picture: AFP

In a series of scathing Facebook posts, Jeff Walz said he was considering publicly endorsing Donald Trump’s White House run,

“I’ve thought long and hard about doing something like that! I’m torn between that and just keeping my family out of it,” the 67-year-old, who lives in Florida, wrote.

“The stories I could tell. Not the type of character you want making decisions about your future,” he added.

Donald Trump (L) and Co-founder of Moms for Liberty Tiffany Justice (R) dance on the stage during the 2024 Joyful Warriors National Summit on August 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

TRUMP BACKFLIPS ON ABORTION RIGHTS

Donald Trump has told supporters he would “vote no” on a measure to repeal the six-week abortion ban in his home state of Florida in an apparent backflip on the issue.

The former US president told supporters at a Pennsylvania rally he would vote against the proposed abortion rights amendment just one day after he indicated he was in favour of it.

The issue is a hot-button topic in the race to the Oval Office, ahead of the US election in November, with political opponent Kamala Harris taking a firm pro-choice stance.

On Friday, Mr Trump — who is registered to vote at his Mar-a-Lago mansion near Florida’s Palm Beach — told Fox News, “I think six weeks, you need more time”.

At this stage of gestation, many women do not know they are pregnant.

However, he also said: “The Democrats are radical”.

Donald Trump arrives at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on August 30. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump pumps his fist while thanking supporters at the rally. Picture: AFP

The proposed change would legalise abortion until “foetal viability” is reached, which is a medical term the indicates the baby would survive outside the uterus.

This generally occurs at about 22-24 weeks, or about the six-month mark.

Mr Trump’s public position on the topic has changed a number of over the years.

The Republican nominee has previously considered backing a 15-week abortion ban, then later declared regulation on the topic should be left to the individual states.

He has previously claimed “I was able to kill Roe v Wade”, a court precedent which made abortion a federally protected right across the US, which was overturned in 2022.

However, in a bid to win more female voters, Mr Trump has proposed making expensive IVF treatments free for women if he returns to the White House for a second term.

Originally published as Joe Biden mistakenly says he spoke to hostage found dead