Joe Biden appears to 'shake hands with air' in latest presidential gaffe

President Joe Biden appeared to 'shake hands with thin air' as he defended his handling of the U.S. economy amid a 40-year-high spike in inflation that he blamed in part on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, Biden promoted his efforts to strengthen U.S. supply chains, accelerate American production of semiconductors and ease dependence on foreign makers.

But he spent a considerable amount of his speech talking about his handling of the economy, a factor in a dip in his job approval rating that could spell trouble for Democrats in November congressional midterm elections.

Biden said job growth had accelerated in his first year in office, including 365,000 new manufacturing jobs, and that the unemployment rate had dropped sharply.

Dogging Biden, however, are persistent increases in prices across the board.

"I know that we're still facing the challenge of high prices and inflation," said Biden. "Putin's invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices all over the world." He said food prices have been impacted as well by a