Joe Biden calls his second-in-command ‘President Harris’

US President Joe Biden had an unfortunate slip of the tongue while delivering a COVID-19 vaccine update at the White House on Thursday night.

President Joe Biden misspoke on Thursday while offering updates on vaccination progress in the US, referring to his Vice President as “President Harris”.

“When President Harris and I took …” Mr Biden said, before momentarily pausing, “a virtual tour of a vaccination site in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that tour injecting people, giving vax, each shot was like administering a dose of hope.”

At the same time, the President announced the administration would achieve its goal of 100 million vaccines administered in 100 days on Friday, the 58th day of the new administration.

BIDEN: "When President Harris and I..."

🙄🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/TivsTVzcOd

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 18, 2021

At this point, Mr Biden said, 65 per cent of people aged 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Byron York, chief political correspondent with the Washington Examiner, noted that the White House had “helpfully” inserted “[Vice]” into the official transcript.

Biden again refers to Vice President Harris as 'President Harris.' The White House helpfully inserts [Vice] in the transcript. pic.twitter.com/yzFLY5327k

— Byron York (@ByronYork) March 19, 2021

Mr Biden has made such gaffes before.

In December he mistakenly referred to Kamala Harris as “President-elect”, also during a speech on COVID-19 vaccines.

“I took it to instil public confidence in the vaccine. President-elect Harris took hers today for the same reason,” Mr Biden said.

The comments ignited speculation of cognitive decline from the right, following a campaign where Mr Biden repeatedly appeared tongue-tied.

Ms Harris, too, once accidentally dubbed herself commander-in-chief.

“A Harris administration, together with Joe Biden as the President of the United States,” she said at a virtual roundtable in September.

“The Biden-Harris administration will provide access to $100 billion in low-interest loans and investments from minority business owners,” she continued.

Conspiracy theorists believe there is a ‘plan’ to put Vice President Kamala Harris into the top job before Biden’s term is over. Picture: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images/AFP

US President Joe Biden made the gaffe, referring to his offsider as ‘President Harris’, during a speech on COVID vaccines. Picture: Jim Watson/AFP

In a Democratic debate in July 2019, Mr Biden called his opponent, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, the President.

While criticising Mr Booker’s criminal justice plan, he said: “The fact is that the bills that the President, excuse me, the future President, that the Senator is talking about, are bills that were passed years ago and they were passed overwhelmingly.”

Mr Booker quipped: “Well first of all, I’m grateful that he endorsed my presidency already.”

It comes after the President, at a White House event earlier this month, appeared to forget the name of Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, referring to him as “the guy who runs that outfit over there”.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night, Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz mocked the latest gaffe.

“When it comes to the Harris-Biden relationship, everyone in Washington knows that every time Kamala Harris shakes the hand of Joe Biden, she’s checking his pulse,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission