HAMPTON, N.H. — Former Vice President Joe Biden Monday made light of his reputation for gaffes with a joke about one of his most famous slip-ups.
The front-runner in the 2020 Democratic presidential field voiced his support for making healthcare a right and told attendees at a campaign stop in Hampton, N.H., that he wants to “reestablish what Barack and I did in the Affordable Care Act.”
“When that act passed, I said it was a big deal, or something to that effect,” Biden said to laughter.
In 2010, Biden drew bemusement and derision for cursing on a hot mic. At an event at which President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Biden leaned in to the president and whispered in his ear, “this is a big f—ing deal,” not realizing that microphones captured the exchange.
“I thought no one could hear,” Biden said in Hampton. “Thank God my mom wasn’t around.”
Biden has avoided any major gaffes so far in the campaign, though he did last week refer to British Prime Minister Theresa May as “Margaret Thatcher.”
