Confusion: Biden offers sympathy for the ‘tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan’

by Emily Larsen Former Vice President Joe Biden misstated the locations of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, while speaking to donors at a high-dollar fundraiser in San Diego on Sunday night.

Biden, 76, mistakenly referred to the shootings as “the tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before,” but later corrected himself, according to a pool report. Biden seemingly confused Houston for El Paso and Michigan for Ohio when speaking to donors about the shootings. The fundraiser for his presidential campaign took place at the home of businessman Mark Arabo, who is an advocate for persecuted Iraqi Christians. Around 75 attendees at the fundraiser received a three-course meal before the vice president’s remarks, and listened to Biden speak in a marble-tiled living area with two chandeliers as they sat in rows of white chairs. 00:06 01:28 Voting machines run on antiquated operating systems Watch Full Screen to Skip Ads Sunday was not the first time that Biden mixed up names on the 2020 campaign trail. In May, Biden confused former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who left office in 1990, with then-Prime Minister Theresa May. “You know what, the president’s words have meaning, no matter who he or she is. They are the face of America,” Biden said at the Sunday fundraiser. He added that he does not hold President Trump personally responsible for the shooting, but noted that he has influence on the country. Biden reportedly also mentioned Trump referring to people crossing the southern border as animals. Politifact in April found that a viral tweet claiming that Trump called all asylum-seekers animals was false. Trump was referring to MS-13 gang members when he said, “These aren’t people. These are animals.” “We can tolerate four years of this man, but we have a hell of a lot to make up, nationally and internationally,” Biden said. “But my God — eight years? Eight years of this man will fundamentally change the character of our country.” During a Democratic primary debate last week, Biden misstated his frequent line about eight years of Trump, among other flubs. Biden warned that “eight more years of Trump will change America in a fundamental way,” even though Trump is constitutionally limited to one more four-year term after 2020.