In a ridiculous gaffe that somehow topped his various gaffes while abroad on foreign misadventures recently, President Joe Biden ridiculously mixed up the names of President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine while speaking shortly before what was termed his “big boy press conference” by KJP.
His comments came as, ahead of his press conference, Biden spoke about NATO support for Ukraine in its war with the Russian Federation, a war that many in the West are tiring of and that appears to be leading to incredibly heavy Ukrainian casualties. Biden even said that Ukraine has a path to joining NATO, one of the issues that Russia gave for beginning the war. “We are united behind Ukraine,” Biden said.
Then came the gaffe. “And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine… ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” President Biden said. “President Putin?” President Biden then said, quickly correcting himself. Stumbling over trying to make the situation less bad, he said, “President Zelensky. I’m so focused on beating Putin.”
According to the BBC’s Tom Bateman, who was reporting from the NATO summit on what was going on, an “audible gasp” was heard as Biden made the unfortunate gaffe. Bateman reported, “An audible gasp just went up in the media centre here as President Biden introduced Ukraine’s leader to the stage, calling him ‘President Putin’.” The BBC also reported the numerous other world leaders winced with the gaffe, noting:
But the pair weren’t the only ones on stage as other world leaders attending the Nato summit in Washington DC stood nearby. Video of the awkward moment posted online shows several of them wincing and turning to look at one another.
Watch Biden’s gaffe here:
https://x.com/disclosetv/status/1811518243950993732?s=12
The night before the unfortunate gaffe, Biden said, describing NATO and the NATO summit, “This is a big night at the White House, celebrating 75 years of the greatest alliance the world has ever known. Jill and I are honored to have so many close Allies and close friends all in the same room. Seventy-five years ago, when our nations created NATO, former President Truman said, and I quote, “We are about — what we’re about to do here is a neighborly act.” A neighborly act.”
He continued, “The Allies in this room not only share a common language — don’t share a common language, we do not share a common border, but we are neighbors. We’re neighbors because we all share common beliefs in dignity, equality, democracy, and freedom. And we’re all neighbors because we’re there for one another.”
He then rambled about neighbors, saying, “In the neighborhood I grew up in, that’s what you do. When a neighbor needed help, you pitched in. When the bullies threatened the block, you stepped up. When a bad snowstorm hit, you shared supplies and made sure everyone was safe. When a new family moved into the neighborhood, you welcomed them with open arms. And why did we do this? Because we knew we were in it together. We knew that our own house was safer when the entire neighborhood was as well.”
Concluding, he said, “This simple yet profound idea lies at the heart of our Alliance. Over the last 75 years, it has allowed our people to reach for new possibilities. It’s allowed our nations to meet any threat with strength and resolve. And above all, it allowed women and men of generations to know the live of freedom, security, and democracy.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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