Biden says climate change could cause Colorado River to dry up during ritzy DNC dinner: 'Not a joke'

President Biden participated in a second reception this week for the Democratic National Committee in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he urged those in attendance to take climate change more seriously.

Just one day after a fundraiser in Rancho Santa Fe, California, where Biden accidentally revealed a previously unknown detail about former President Jimmy Carter’s health, he made a number of off-the-cuff comments about climate change including one about the Colorado River drying up.

"You’re not going to be able to drink out of the Colorado River," Biden said to a crowd of about 60 people. He also likened climate change to nuclear war as a "truly existential threat" facing the country.

"Not a joke," the president added.

He continued: "This is serious stuff. It's the single most dire consequence. If we don't keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius, not go above that, we're going to damn our children to circumstances where we are the only, truly existential threat of nuclear war."