President Joe Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” at a NATO meeting on Thursday, an embarrassing verbal gaffe at a time when Biden is facing tough questions about his mental competency.
Biden’s conflation of Zelensky with the name of the Russian leader who has been waging a war with Ukraine for more than two years came less than an hour before he was scheduled to face reporters in Washington, D.C., for his first news conference since a staccato debate with former President Donald Trump in late June.
There are also growing calls among Democrats for Biden to withdraw from the party’s presidential nomination.
“And now I want to turn it over to a president of Ukraine who has just as much courage as he has resolve,” Biden said.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is President Putin. This is President Putin,” Biden began, before realizing his mistake.
“He’s going to beat President Putin, he’s going to beat President Zelensky,” Biden said.
Zelensky deftly dodged the gaffe, quipping: “I’m better.”
“You’re much better,” Biden responded.
Biden has struggled with a stutter for decades.
But recent debates with President Trump and other verbal gaffes and apparent moments of confusion have raised concerns that the 81-year-old, the oldest serving U.S. president, may be suffering from mental decline.
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