Joe Biden goofs up again, mistakes New Hampshire for Nevada: 'Iowa, Nevada have given verdict'
Former vice president Joe Biden left New Hampshire for South Carolina on Tuesday, February 11, even before the primary polling ended in the Granite State. The 77-year-old faced his second debacle of this primary season inside nine days as he was languishing at the fifth position in New Hampshire. Biden always stressed that his race would begin after the tests in Iowa and New Hampshire and he reiterated it while addressing his supporters in the Palmetto State.
Nevada will hold its caucuses on February 22 while South Carolina will hold its primary on February 29 and Biden will need a real turnaround in those two states to make himself a serious contender for the White House starting January 20, 2021.
“The people in Nevada are watching. We praise the diversity in their state,” Biden said, adding: “We will be out there very soon.”
Biden got only 8.3% of votes in New Hampshire and was trailing Bernie Sanders (26.3%), Pete Buttigieg (24.1%), Amy Klobuchar (19.6%) and Elizabeth Warren (9.6%) till the latest reports came out. The former Delaware senator did not get any delegate in NH even though he had always downplayed the outcome in that state.
Biden eyes remaining 48 states
“We just heard from the first two of 50 states. Two of them. Not all the nation, not half the nation, not a quarter of the nation, not 10% — two. Two,” Biden said, in an apparent effort to boost his supporters. Sanders finished a poor fourth in Iowa with less than 15% votes.
“Where I come from that’s the opening bell, not the closing bell,” he continued. “The fight to end Donald Trump’s presidency is just beginning.” The supporters cheered the man who has seen a sour battle with Trump outside the election ring this season.
Joe also addressed the supporters in New Hampshire through a livestream and was accompanied by his wife Jill.
Biden's tongue slips yet again
However, Biden’s critics also found a moment to mock him when his tongue slipped yet once more. The man, who has in the past been attacked for misspeaking, said: “It is important that Iowa and Nevada have spoken, but look, we need to hear from Nevada and South Carolina and Super Tuesday states and beyond.” He mistook Nevada for New Hampshire. Earlier, Biden had mixed up Iran and Iraq during a campaign speech.
Biden has been banking heavily on the African-American votes and has claimed that nobody comes closer to him when it comes to the black support. South Carolina is a state with a high concentration of African-American people and the former vice president is eyeing those votes, calling the state diverse.
CNN correspondent Dana Bash, however, said while it holds true, it is also a fact that Biden is losing a big share of those votes.
Biden, nevertheless, said in South Carolina that 99% of the black voters are yet to choose a Democratic candidate as are 98% of the Latinos. “Tell them, it ain't over man, we're just getting started,” Biden said.
Dana Perino, a political commentator and a former White House secretary, found Biden’s exit from NH a smart communication move for according to her, he would have been repeatedly asked about his plans to quit the presidential race had it stayed back after the debacle.