Joe Biden’s verbal slip of calling far-right group Proud Boys the ‘Poor Boys’ goes viral

'I'm naming my new band Abe Lincoln and the Poor Boys,' one Twitter user writes

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden accused the president of lifting up racist ideals and groups like the Proud Boys in an effort to win over voters, but he misspoke and instead called the far-right group the “Poor Boys”.

This moment, though small, was quickly embraced by people on social media.

“He banned Muslims because they are Muslims. ... He has made everything worse across the board. He said about the Poor Boys, the last time we were on stage here, he said 'I tell them to stand down and stand ready,” Mr Biden said during the second and final presidential debate. "Come on. This guy is a dog whistle about as big as a foghorn.”

The candidate was referencing the moment during the first presidential debate when President Donald Trump told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,” which raised concern he was asking the far-right group to take up arms for him.

Mr Biden’s verbal slip quickly spread on social media among journalists and other Twitter users.

“The poor boys thing ruled,” MSNBC journalist Chris Hayes said.

“Biden just called the Proud Boys ‘the poor boys,’ which sounds like something out of a Broadway Show or Dickens novel,” CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski said.

Other people compared the “Poor Boys” to a Po’Boy, a traditional sandwich from Louisiana, while some joked that they were going to create a band name with the infamous new nickname.

“I'm naming my new band Abe Lincoln and the Poor Boys,” another Twitter user wrote.

The Proud Boys are a far-right group that United States intelligence organisations have designated as a “dangerous white supremacist group."