Biden insists he’s ‘fine’ in Michigan before messing up congresswoman’s name

President Biden vowed to Michigan voters on Friday during a campaign appearance in the crucial swing state that he was “fine” – before misnaming a prominent Democratic congresswoman.

“I promise you, I’m fine,” the 81-year-old president told supporters at a restaurant in Northville, Michigan, before heading to a larger rally in Detroit, where he stumbled while trying to shout at Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Missouri).

“Members of Congress – Debbie Haley,” Biden said, apparently referring to Dingell, a five-term congresswoman.

“And by the way, I want you to know that I’ve spent a lot of time with Debbie,” he added. “She’s helped me a lot.”

Biden also noted Dingell’s resemblance to his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.

“I forgot what event we were at, and someone said, ‘You’re his wife, aren’t you?'” Biden said, explaining that Dingell “looks like Jill.”

Biden, who did not correct the faux pas, admitted much later in the event: “Sometimes I mix up names.”

What was striking was the absence of many of the state’s influential politicians at the election campaign rally.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer – a co-chair of the Biden campaign and Biden’s presumptive successor – was out of state for the event.

Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), candidate for the vacant Wolverine State Senate seat, was also absent, as was Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers.

Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan) was also absent. He had said earlier this week that Biden could “absolutely” defeat former President Donald Trump in November and expressed his belief that the Democrats can maintain their narrow majority in the upper house.

Biden made the remarks at Renaissance High School in Detroit, the same place where he claimed during the 2020 campaign that he was a “bridge” to a new generation of leadership.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden told rally attendees as calls from Democratic lawmakers for him to abandon his re-election effort grew louder this week.

“I am running and we will win,” the president said.

According to an average of RealClearPolitics polls, Trump, 78, is leading Biden by less than one percentage point in Michigan.

According to an Emerson College poll conducted after Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump on June 27, the former president was leading by one percentage point, at 45 percent, over the incumbent, at 44 percent.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll conducted after the debate showed Biden leading by 5 percentage points, 48% to 43%.

The Wolverine State narrowly went for Biden in the 2020 election, 50.6% to 47.4%, after Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the state by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016.

However, Biden’s general support for Israel’s war against Hamas following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack has alienated the state’s large and important Arab-American voting bloc.

More than 100,000 people voted “undecided” against Biden’s support of the Israeli offensive in the Democratic primary in Michigan in February.