Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden riffed at the start of his stump speech in Atlanta, introducing himself as Sen. Kamala Harris's running mate.
"My name is Joe Biden, I'm Jill Biden's husband, and I'm Kamala's running mate. Y'all think I'm kidding, don't you?" Biden joked Tuesday during his second stop in Georgia.
The two-term vice president and 36-year Delaware senator typically introduces himself on the campaign trail as "Jill Biden's husband," particularly to teachers or union workers given his wife's background in education.
But Biden's quip on Tuesday plays into Republican messaging that he's an "empty vessel" or "Trojan horse" for more liberal policies supported by Harris. Last month, the pair both accidentally referred to themselves as representing a potential Harris-Biden administration.
Harris, the junior senator from California, is the first woman of Jamaican and Indian descent to vie in a general election as the vice presidential nominee. She also has been the subject of racist slights. Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue purposely mispronounced her name during an event this month with President Trump.
Biden condemned Perdue for his remarks on Tuesday, urging voters to have their say on his toss-up race and other tight down-ballot contests before Nov. 3.
"There aren't a lot of pundits who would have guessed four years ago that the Democratic candidate for president in 2020 would be campaigning in Georgia on the final week of the election or that we would have such competitive Senate races in Georgia, but we do," he told the drive-in rally without a jacket and with his sleeves rolled up.
He added, "Something's happening here in Georgia and across America. People of different races, backgrounds, Democrats, Republicans, independents, they're coming together to transcend the old divides."
Earlier Tuesday, Biden delivered one of his last formal campaign addresses in Warm Springs, evoking both former President Franklin Roosevelt and Pope Francis as he laid out his vision for a more unified country.
"The Bible tells us that there is a time to break down and a time to build up. And a time to heal. This is that time," he said.
Georgia has not awarded its 16 electoral votes to a Democratic standard-bearer since 1992. Trump won the state in 2016 by 5 percentage points, but the president is only ahead on average by less than a point four years later, according to RealClearPolitics
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