Joe Biden labels Grand Canyon one of world’s ‘nine wonders’

President Biden mistakenly called the Grand Canyon one of the world’s “nine wonders” and “a haven of ironic species” during a Tuesday speech in Arizona at the start of a swing through the Southwest.

“Folks, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that there is no national treasure, none, that is grander than the Grand Canyon,” the 80-year-old said. “The Grand Canyon — one of the earth’s nine wonders, wonders the world — literally, think of that.”

In fact, the 6,000-foot-deep Colorado River gorge is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, as determined by the non-profit group Seven Natural Wonders.

Biden belatedly recognized his error, telling his audience a few moments later: “As a matter of fact, I said nine. It’s one of the seven wonders of the world.”

It’s unclear how Biden made the mistake, though later in his speech an apparent teleprompter-reading snafu resulted in him hailing the region’s “ironic” wildlife — when he clearly was supposed to say “iconic.”

“These lands also support a range of ecosystems and plants from savannas, to sagebrush to ponderosa pine — a haven of ironic species like bats, bison, bighorn sheep and nearly 450 kinds of birds, including the bald and golden eagles,” he said.

The 80-year-old president was speaking about his designation of 1.1 million acres near the canyon as a national monument — restricting the mining of valuable uranium in the process.

Biden’s decision to set aside large amounts of federal land near the Grand Canyon wasn’t met with universal acclaim.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said the designation would “have detrimental impacts [on] Utah’s miners and ranchers” and likely would become a “political football tossed back and forth as presidential administrations change.”

“Ranchers… who graze their cattle on the public lands on the Arizona Strip, will be faced with burdensome restrictions or be prevented from using the land altogether,” Romney said in a statement.

“The Arizona Strip is one of the most productive uranium mining districts in the country. By eliminating this important source of uranium, President Biden has increased both our dependence on Russia and China and our ultimate carbon footprint, while decreasing our energy efficiency.” 

Biden already is the country’s oldest-ever president and is running for a second term in next year’s election, despite polls detecting broad concern about his mental and physical fitness.

He will be 86 if he completes a second term in 2029.

A Washington Post-ABC poll released in June found that just 32% of voters believe Biden has the mental sharpness needed to be president — versus 54% who said the same of Donald Trump, 77, the former president and frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

Biden, who currently faces no serious challenge for the Democratic nomination, and Trump are essentially tied in general-election polling.

The RealClearPolitics average of recent polls gives Biden a popular vote advantage of just .9%, suggesting narrow margins in swing states that determine the Electoral College outcome.