Much of the public is trying to give President Joe Biden grace regarding his age and ability to serve if reelected. But ever since last month’s presidential debate, it seems he can’t help but to show his age.
Biden attended the 75th NATO Summit, giving the president a chance to put on a strong public face to the world. , The pressure was on, with many calling this a “high-stakes” conference for the president, according to CNN.
However, Biden fell short when he confused the names of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia who happens to be actively warring with Ukraine.
“I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he does determination. Ladies and gentlemen: President Putin,” Biden said.
“President Putin?” Mr. Biden quickly interrupted himself. “We’re going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy. I’m so focused on beating Putin. We got to worry about it,” he continued.
Biden tried to turn his mistake into a light-hearted joke with the help of Zelenskyy, who replied “I’m better.” Despite sparse chuckles from the audience, both supporters and critics of the president took note of Biden confusing his ally with his enemy.
The summit continued with Biden answering questions about his leadership abilities, Israel’s economy, and U.S. Policy regarding the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. It seemed like the president was holding strong, and his earlier gaffe could be forgotten.
That is until he repeated his mistake...this time with his own running mate: In a solo conference later in the evening, reporters asked him about Vice President Kamala Harris’ ability to beat the former president in an election.
“I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be president,” Biden told reporters. This time, the president failed to correct himself as he continued with the press conference.
Though we all knew what he meant to say, these blunders couldn’t have been more ill-timed, as almost 20 members of his own party have called for the incumbent to drop out of the presidential race, according to the New York Times.
Of course, Trump had much to say about Biden’s mistake. On Truth Social, the former president posted a meme mocking the Democratic candidate.