Former Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that “over 120 million” people have died from the novel coronavirus before correcting himself.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee made the gaffe during a town hall on the Affordable Care Act in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Biden also discussed his proposal to increase the government’s investment in mental health services. (RELATED: Here Is What Biden’s Vice Presidential Shortlist Could Mean For November)
“What people drastically underestimate is the impact on the mental health of people who now, everything is complicated,” Biden told the audience. “Not only is the health care piece, people don’t have a job, people don’t have anywhere to go, they don’t know what they’re gonna do.”
“A lot of people, you have unnecessarily, now we have over 120 million dead from COVID,” Biden added.
The live stream of Biden’s campaign event appeared to cut out as the former vice president was preparing to correct himself.
WATCH:
Joe Biden claims “now we have over 120 million dead from COVID”https://t.co/m1ACghhi3l pic.twitter.com/GmLuQ5wt4z
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 25, 2020
The U.S. has had over 2.4 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and over 120,000 deaths, according to a running tracker from The New York Times.
The former vice president has made health care a centerpiece of his campaign, promising to expand the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The Trump administration has supported litigation to end Obamacare, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on the legality of Obamacare earlier this year. (RELATED: ‘Time To Reject It’: Series Of Supreme Court Decisions Lead Some To Doubt The Conservative Legal Movement)
Biden has come under scrutiny for gaffes throughout his campaign. Biden erroneously claimed during a Democratic presidential debate earlier this year that 150 million Americans have died from gun violence since 2007.
“One hundred fifty million people have been killed since 2007, when [Vermont Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability,” Biden claimed at the time. “More than all the wars, including Vietnam, from that point on. Carnage on our streets.”