"I want to thank Sec-, the former general, I keep calling him 'General.' My — the guy who runs that outfit over there," Biden said in remarks from the White House to mark International Women's Day.
Biden then immediately added, "I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he's done."
The president had praised Austin earlier in his remarks for the secretary's work discussing sexual assault and violence against women in the military.
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"So much of unit cohesion is built on trusting your fellow service members have your back," Biden said. "I know Secretary Austin takes this as seriously as Vice President [Kamala] Harris."
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During the event, Biden welcomed Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson as “two outstanding and eminently qualified warriors and patriots.”
The 78-year-old Biden's work has been interrupted by lingual blunders, unusual turns of phrase, and vague stories. As the president told an audience in 2018, “I am a gaffe machine.”
In 2008, he launched his presidential running mate as "Barack America," and in 2012, he inadvertently revealed on Meet the Press that he supported same-sex marriage. Former President Barack Obama had not yet published out a position favoring it.
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Last month, Biden mixed up Canada and China in his opening remarks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before correcting himself.
Biden came under scrutiny after asking a head nurse if she was a student during a virtual visit to a coronavirus vaccination site. Critics slammed him, viewing the remark as sexist.
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Biden signed a pair of executive orders directed at advancing gender equity in the U.S. as the world marked International Women’s Day — a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
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One order establishes a gender policy council within the White House and the other orders a review of Trump-era changes to Title IX, the federal regulation on how colleges and universities handle charges of sexual assault.
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The White House said in a statement that the Biden administration is "committed to honoring women by investing in their opportunity, security, and wellbeing."
Harris, who also spoke, made history as the country’s first Black and first female second-in-command. Their words praised two women who have risen in the ranks in the U.S. Army.
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"While it has only been five years since all combat jobs have opened to women, women have been in the line of fire risking their lives to protect our nation long before that," Harris said. "Recruiting more women to our military, adjusting policies to retain more women, enforcing policies to protect women and ensure they are heard and advancing more women on fair and equal footing with, without any question, make our nation safer. And that’s the work ahead."
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