Vice President Joe Biden, speaking Thursday about foreign policy at New York University, said President Barack Obama "has a big stick" as he attempted to describe the administration's approach to Iran.

Biden, notorious for his gaffes, said when it comes to Iran policy, it was time to heed the timeless advice of Theodore Roosevelt, to "speak softly and carry a big stick."

"I promise you, the president has a big stick," Biden said.

Watch the video above to see the remark.

The bizarre choice of words elicited giggles from his audience and spread quickly on Twitter after it was tweeted by political reporters. About 500 people were in the audience, mostly NYU students.

Biden also got some laughs when he described Obama's decisiveness.

"This guy's got a backbone like a ramrod. For real. For real," he said.

Biden dedicated much of his speech to defending the president's overall record on defense and slammed Republican Mitt Romney's foreign policy vision as outdated and "not smart."

The vice president's propensity for gaffes is well-documented. He has been caught on camera dropping the f-bomb.

His so-called Bidenisms include speaking of the Irish Prime Minister's mother as if she were dead when she was very much alive and calling Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens "Justice Stewart."

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