In a Wednesday interview with Black Entertainment Television, President Biden appeared to momentarily forget the name of his Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, referring to him as “the Black man.”

The interview focused on Mr. Biden’s efforts to increase diversity within his administration, during which he highlighted his record of appointing Black individuals to key positions.

“It’s all about treating people with dignity,” Mr. Biden said. “For example, look at the heat I’m getting because I named a, uh, the secretary of defense, the Black man.”

In addition, Mr. Biden incorrectly referred to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as “Ketanji Brown” but emphasized, “I mean, because of the people I’ve named. It’s about making it clear that American history is Black history, Black history is American history, and it’s being built by it. That’s why we’re strong.”

In 2007, Mr. Biden apologized after describing then-Senator Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean.” In 2019, he faced backlash for stating that “poor kids” were “just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”

A year later, in 2020, Mr. Biden sparked controversy by saying Black voters who were unsure about voting for him “ain’t black” during an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God, for which he later apologized.