 "Gaffe-prone Biden strikes again! Introduces Zelenskyy as 'President Putin', calls VP Harris 'Trump'")
US President Joe Biden delivered a barrage of gaffes yet again after he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Donald Trump”.
Biden made the gaffes while he was flanked by world leaders at the Nato Summit in Washington. The two goof-ups fueled further concerns about the president’s mental acuity.
During a signing ceremony on the final day of the Summit, Biden introduced Zelenskyy as “President Putin”. Concluding his opening remarks at the ceremony, Biden handed over the mic to the Ukrainian leader with words: “Now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination.” “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin!” He exclaimed.
President Biden: "And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentleman, President Putin." He immediately corrects himself, "He's going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy." pic.twitter.com/VIqDxC8NCS
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 11, 2024
The remarks from Biden came hours before his rare press conference in which he called the upcoming 2024 US Presidential elections a “make or break” moment. While leaders present at the event began clapping hesitantly, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni turned their heads in surprise after the POTUS mentioned the Russian leader.
The cover-up
Realising his goof, Biden tried to cover up his mistake by making the situation more awkward. “President Putin! We’re going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy. I’m so focused on beating Putin. We’ve got to worry about it. Anyway, President," he said.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I’m better,” Zelenkyy responded shaking Biden’s hand. “You are a hell of a lot better,” the 81-year-old president remarked. However, the news about the mistake spread like wildfire with many world leaders coming to Biden’s defence. When UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked about Biden’s gaffe, he put out a sympathetic stance over the matter.
“Look, I was with him last night. We spent the best part of an hour together. We covered a lot of ground,” Starmer averred when asked about Biden, The Guardian reported. “We’ve been through two days of this council and come to a very good outcome. He’s led through all, spoken at every session, pulled people together, and we got a good outcome and I think he should give credit for that," he added.
Meanwhile, French President Emanuel Macron also said: “Slips of the tongue happen, it’s happened to me.”
Biden refers to Harris as Trump
While Biden parried with journalists over his fitness for office, his efforts were hampered after he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump".
“Wouldn’t have picked vice-president Trump to be vice-president if I didn’t think she was not qualified to be president,” Biden said when asked about Harris’ ability to to beat Donald Trump if she were at the top of the ticket.
BIDEN: "VICE PRESIDENT TRUMP" pic.twitter.com/ERHH4GuFGS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 11, 2024
Meanwhile, Biden’s Republican rival, former President Donald Trump had a field trip with the whole ordeal. Trump shared the video of Biden’s gaffe on TruthSocial and referred to him as “Crooked Joe”, a nickname he always used for his successor.
“Crooked Joe begins his “Big Boy” Press Conference with, ‘I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president, though I think she was not qualified to be president.’ Great job, Joe!” he wrote. Biden’s recent incident sparked concerned about his competency even among his fellow Democratic lawmakers. With the POTUS remaining adament to continue in the race, it will be interesting to see how his presidential campaign will navigate through the hurdles.
With inputs from agencies.
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