Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” Photo:X/@BFMTV
Despite another gaffe, US President Joe Biden has vowed to continue with his presidential campaign amid concerns about his health.
Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” during a NATO press conference in Washington on Thursday.
The US president appeared confused when introducing Zelensky as Putin, but tried to brush off the gaffe.
“Now, I want to hand it over the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentleman, President Putin,” Biden said.
“He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelensky,” Biden said, quickly correcting himself. “I’m so focused on beating Putin, we’ve got to worry about it.”
The 46-year-old Ukrainian leader scowled and shook his head before joking, “I’m better.”
“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden responded.
Biden made another mistake later, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice-President Trump.”
ALSO READ: Clooney, Democrats pile pressure on Biden
The humiliating mix-up occurred while the US president and the leaders of 19 other nations were gathered to announce the signing of the Ukraine Compact, a new security agreement between Kyiv and the US, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom among others, according to the New York Post.
After the gaffe, Biden fielded questions from reporters about cognitive tests and concerns that his mental weakness might see the return of former US president Donald Trump to the White House.
The blunder will further fuel concerns about his mental acuity after a disastrous debate performance against Trump two weeks ago.
A Democratic senator on Wednesday called on Biden to ditch his reelection bid, capping a brutal day that saw mounting pressure from high-profile actor and donor George Clooney and party heavyweight Nancy Pelosi.
Clooney penned a devastating editorial in the New York Times Wednesday just three weeks after co-hosting a huge fundraiser in Los Angeles that raised nearly $30 million for Biden.
“It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010,” wrote Clooney.
“He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
Clooney said that Biden would lose the presidential election, and Democrats would also lose both chambers of Congress.
The 81-year-old Biden has rejected calls for him to drop out of the race, saying this week he is “firmly committed” to running for re-election
Meanwhile, with Biden set to leave the White House if Trump wins the November elections, the result is unlikely to have a significant impact on South Africa-US relations, say experts.
Prof Ntsikelelo Breakfast of Nelson Mandela University said neither of the two candidates was better for SA because they both pursued the same agenda of world domination.
He said US foreign policy was driven by multinational corporations which dictated that country’s policy direction regardless of who was in power in the US.
Additional reporting by Eric Naki
ALSO READ: US election’s impact on SA minimal, experts say
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