Joe Biden says 'poor kids are just as bright' as 'white kids' at Iowa event for Asian, Hispanic voters

Presidential candidate Joe Biden told a group of Iowa voters that "poor kids are just as bright" as white kids Thursday night, before correcting himself.

The former vice president, who is currently leading among Democratic candidates in nearly all polls, made the gaffe while speaking to the Asian & Latino Commission in Des Moines, Iowa.

"We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids," Biden said, before adding: "Wealthy kids. Black kids. Asian kids. No, I really mean it. But think how we think about it."

"They can do anything anybody else can do, given a shot," he added.

Biden made the comments when describing his education plan, which would triple federal investment in lower-income school districts.

RELATED: A look back at Joe Biden over the years

The speech, which lasted more than 90 minutes, was part of a four-day campaign trip in Iowa, where the first group of Democratic voters will cast their ballots for their choice to become the party's 2020 presidential election. The 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses will take place on Feb. 3.

Biden, who has at times been known to make verbal slip-ups when speaking in public, later apologized for the mistake via a statement from his communications director, Kate Bedingfield. The statement came after President Trump criticized the former vice president's comments, saying he believes Biden is "not playing with a full deck."

"Vice President Biden misspoke and immediately corrected himself during a refrain he often uses to make the point that all children deserve a fair shot, and children born into lower-income circumstances are just as smart as those born to wealthy parents," Bedingfield said in a statement to NBC News.

The mistake came after another gaffe on Monday, in which Biden accidentally mixed up the locations of last weekend's mass shootings, which killed 31 people in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas.

Speaking at a fundraiser in San Diego, Calif., Biden referred to the "tragic events in Houston today and also in Michigan the day before." He later corrected himself.