President Joe Biden confuses Taylor Swift with Britney Spears in remarks on his 81st birthday
Joe Biden got Britney Spears muddled up with Taylor Swift in his latest gaffe in front of reporters.
The US president, who turned 81 today, was in the middle of pardoning two turkeys – Liberty and Bell – in the White House’s annual ceremony before the Thanksgiving holiday when he used the name Britney in an apparent reference to Taylor Swift’s current overseas tour.
Mr Biden said: “Just to get here, Liberty and Bell had to beat some tough odds and competition. They had to work hard, to show patience, and be willing to travel over 1,000 miles.
“You could say it’s even harder than getting a ticket to the Renaissance tour or, or Britney’s tour. She’s down, it’s kind of warm in Brazil right now.”
President Joe Biden speaks after pardoning Liberty the turkey. Pic: AP
Spears is not currently on tour, nor is Beyonce who finished her Renaissance tour in October. However, Swift is in the middle of a string of international dates, and she postponed her concert in Rio on Saturday due to extreme heat.
A day earlier, a 23-year-old fan had died at the singer’s first Eras Tour show in the Brazilian city.
Swift said in a post on Instagram she was devastated by the death – the cause has not been confirmed.
Saturday’s concert was rescheduled for Monday.
Taylor Swift. Pic: AP
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Taylor Swift fans queue in ‘extreme temperatures’
Also speaking at the same White House ceremony, Mr Biden joked about his age, saying: “As much of you know, it’s difficult turning 60.
“This is the 76th anniversary of this event. I want you to know I wasn’t there, and I was too young to make it up.”
The White House did not immediately respond to request for a comment by Sky News’ partner network NBC News on Mr Biden’s apparent mix-up, which comes as voters express concerns in polling about his age.
In June, the president made a comment about Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s “war in Iraq”, which led to him being mocked online.
Mr Biden said at the time there were clear signs Mr Putin was losing his grip on power amid the conflict in Ukraine.
He told reporters: “It’s hard to tell, but [Putin is] clearly losing the war in Iraq, and he’s losing the war at home.”
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Biden mistakes Ukraine for Iraq
In September, Mr Biden mistakenly praised the “Congressional Black Caucus” while addressing the Congressional Hispanic Caucus at the group’s annual gala in Washington DC.
He made the error while noting the group shares qualities with gala award recipient Sister Norma Pimental, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
“I know Sister Norma lives the lessons nuns taught me growing up. Lessons based on the Gospel of Matthew: feed the hungry, care for the sick, welcome strangers,” he said.
“They echo what my dad taught me, and I mean this sincerely, my dad used to say, ‘Everyone, everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.’ The Congressional Black Caucus embodies all those values.”
And in April, during a visit to Ireland, the US president praised former Irish rugby international Rob Kearney who he said was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans”.
By doing so, Mr Biden confused New Zealand’s famous team, the All Blacks, with the reviled British paramilitary force the Black and Tans, who brutally repressed opponents of British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
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Biden makes ‘Black and Tans’ gaffe
Most infamously, the force massacred 14 people and wounded 60 more at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin in 1920.
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Ahead of the 2024 election, Democrat Mr Biden is currently trailing former Republican president Donald Trump, 77, among young voters ages 18 to 34, with 46% of them supporting Mr Trump and 42% Mr Biden, according to NBC News’ latest poll.
The disparity is significant compared to Mr Biden’s success among young voters in the 2020 presidential election, when he won over voters ages 18 to 29 by more than 20 points, according to the national exit poll.
Another NBC News poll in September found 59% of Americans had major concerns about Mr Biden having the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term.
Millions of Americans are voting in an historic election that could put Donald Trump back into the White House or make Kamala Harris the first woman to become US president.
The two candidates are neck and neck in the polls after bitter campaign that saw two assassination attempts against Republican Mr Trump as well as the shock withdrawal of President Joe Biden.
In around 100 days, Ms Harris has found her feet and mounted a fierce challenge to her opponent.
With just hours left before polls close, the election has come down to the wire and could be decided by a handful of crucial battleground states.
Follow live: Harris makes surprise stop in Washington
Voting on Tuesday appears to be smooth, with only scattered reports of delays from extreme weather, long lines or technical problems.
The FBI reported that there had been “non-credible” bomb threats to several states, some of which it said came from Russian email domains.
Pic: AP
How the vote works
As well as those lining up at polling booths on Tuesday, tens of millions of Americans cast early ballots – voting by post or in person before today.
To become president, the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes or more, with each state carrying a different number of votes.
If the polls predicting a close race are correct, the election will likely come down to a few battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The first ballots cast on Tuesday mirrored the national divide. Overnight, the six registered voters in the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, split their votes between the two candidates in voting just past midnight.
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Key issues for American voters
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Trump or Harris
Former President Mr Trump, 78, voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club.
Wearing his trademark red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap, he said at the polling station that he was feeling “very confident”.
“I hear we’re doing very well,” he said. “It looks like Republicans have shown up in force.”
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump donor, said he will watch results unfold with the former president.
In the meantime, Ms Harris, the 60-year-old Democratic vice president, did radio interviews in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.
A cat seen at a polling booth in battleground state Pennsylvania. Pic: Reuters
What do the polls say?
Many polls are too tight to call and, with a large margin of error, most experts are refusing to predict the outcome.
Georgia could be among the first battleground to declare, with polls there closing at 7pm local time (midnight UK time). State election officials told Sky News they could have a result as early as 10pm (3am UK time).
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
North Carolina could also give an early indication of how the vote is going.
Even so, it could be several days before the US has a definitive result.
An exit poll by conducted today by Sky News’ sister outlet NBC News and other US outlets suggests that democracy is the top issue on the minds of voters as they cast their ballots.
Some 35% of people said it was their most important issue, closely followed by the economy on 31% and with abortion ranked third at 14%.
Voters are not just selecting a president. A number of seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate are up for grabs. In addition, 10 states will hold abortion-related ballots, half of which would overturn existing restrictions.
Americans are choosing their new president today.
Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the new occupant of the White House in January.
For many people, their vote will make little difference.
The main crunch points are in seven states and one inner state district.
In the following game, you can predict who will win in each swing state.
We will tell you at the end who the new president will be – if you have made correct predictions.
Good luck!
Voters across 50 states are preparing to cast their ballots after a bitterly contested US election campaign, which will see Donald Trump or Kamala Harris become president.
In the last few hours, both candidates have been giving their final pitches. “The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris told a crowd in Philadelphia that chanted back, “We will win”.
“Tonight, then, we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy,” she said, while enjoying the support of celebrity endorsements on the day from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.
In contrast, Mr Trump ended his campaign in Michigan, repeating key messages about the economy and immigration.
A handful of states will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin hold the keys to the White House.
To become president, the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes or more, with each state carrying a different number of votes.
But the focus has been on Pennsylvania which carries 19 electoral votes, the most of all the swing states.
It has been a remarkable journey for both candidates – with Mr Trump surviving two assassination attempts and Ms Harris not even originally in the running.
Katy Perry performed in Pittsburgh in support of Kamala Harris. Pic: AP
For more than a year, the 2024 presidential race seemed destined for a rematch between Joe Biden and Mr Trump – but a disastrous TV debate by Mr Biden eventually forced him to withdraw from the ticket.
The Democratic party’s decision to replace Mr Biden with his vice president transformed the race and shifted polls in Ms Harris’s favour. But only just.
Many polls are too tight to call and, with a large margin of error, most experts are refusing to predict the outcome.
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Later, attention will turn to those battleground states including Georgia, which is among the first polls to close at 7pm local time (midnight UK time).
State election officials told Sky News they could have a result as early as 10pm (3am UK time).
Even so, it could be several days before the US has a definitive result.
Voters are not just selecting a president. In addition, 10 states will hold abortion-related ballots, half of which would overturn existing restrictions.
Predict who you think will win in each swing state and we’ll tell you who the president will be if you’re right.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
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