Former President Joe Biden (left) spoke at a Ukraine Compact meeting as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) stood next to him, on the sidelines of the NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC (Picture: Reuters)
President Joe Biden made an embarrassing gaffe calling Volodymyr Zelensky ‘President Putin’ just before a solo press conference viewed as possibly make-or-break for continuing his reelection campaign.
Biden botched his introduction of the Ukrainian president, instead introducing him as his enemy, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination,’ Biden said at a NATO conference on Thursday.
‘Ladies and gentlemen – President Putin. President Putin.’
Gasps could be heard in the room, prompting Biden to realize his big mistake and try to cover it up.
‘President Putin? You’re going to beat President Putin, President Zelensky,’ said Biden, correcting himself.
Biden, who is facing a growing number of calls to drop out of the 2024 race following his debate debacle, tried to explain his latest verbal stumble.
‘I’m so focused on beating Putin; we got to worry about it,’ Biden said at the event unveiling the Ukraine Compact agreement.
Zelensky went along with the blunder by quipping, ‘I’m better.’
‘You are a hell of a lot better,’ Biden said.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
