Donald Trump Mocks Biden Over Press Conference: 'Great Job, Joe!'

Donald Trump mocked President Joe Biden on Thursday night for mistakenly referring to Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" at his press conference after the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.

Writing on Truth Social on Thursday, the former president wrote: "Crooked Joe begins his 'Big Boy' Press Conference with, 'I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president.' Great job, Joe!"

The president clapped back later on Thursday evening, posting on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account a screenshot of Trump's post and writing: "By the way: Yes, I know the difference. One's a prosecutors, and the other's a felon," referencing Harris' background as a district attorney and California attorney general and Trump's recent criminal conviction in New York.

The unscripted press conference at the end of the three-day summit was high stakes for the 81-year-old, who has come under scrutiny following his performance at the first presidential candidates debate in June, where he made numerous verbal gaffes and incoherent statements, leading to several Democrats, including 18 in Congress, calling for him to end his reelection campaign.

The president has insisted that he intends to stay in the race.

The "big boy" comment refers to a comment by White House adviser John Kirby, who in a press briefing on Monday said: "The president will hold a press conference... a big boy press conference we're calling it," before looking at White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Aside from mistakenly referring to Harris as Trump in the opening minutes, the hour-long press conference, the president's first solo presser of the year, was largely free of gaffes, answering questions about economic policy and NATO with extended coherent answers.

Biden's age and mental fitness is a key concern for voters. One recent poll found the majority of respondents supported using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office over concerns about his ability to carry out his duties.

While many polls have shown that Biden has suffered a loss of support since the June debate, the race remains essentially deadlocked, as Trump's lead over the president is still well within the margin of error in most polls that show Biden trailing.

An average of recent polls from polling website FiveThirtyEight shows that Trump has a 2.1 percent lead over Biden nationally, up from a 0.2 percent lead on the day of the debate.

Trump's 2024 presidential campaign has also had no shortage of gaffes, with the 78-year old candidate having made series of bizarre statements at rallies this year, including in May saying: "The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He's a wonderful man," in reference to the serial killer protagonist from The Silence of the Lambs, and in June going on an incoherent rant involving a hypothetical about sharks, boats, and batteries.

"If the boat is sinking, water goes over the battery, the boat is sinking, do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted?" Trump said. "Or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?"