In a bid to reassure Democratic lawmakers, allies, and potential voters in this year’s election, President Joe Biden (81) held a news conference aimed at dispelling concerns about his health and vigor by his performance in the June 27 debate against Republican candidate Donald Trump.
However, the address soon backfired on him as Biden made two notable flubs during his speech as he referred Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and then called Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” when asked about her by a reporter, reported AP. But Biden gave a detailed response when asked about securing him the second term despite the growing demand from Democrats for him to step aside, he also briefed about his work to preserve NATO.
One of President Joe Biden’s most notable errors during the press conference occurred early when he mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” explaining he chose her because he believed she could defeat Trump.
This misstep followed a similar incident at the NATO summit, where Biden had already fumbled an important name, thereby lowering expectations for his press conference performance.
As per AP, while introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden said, “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.” The blunder elicited immediate gasps from the audience as Biden quickly corrected himself while speaking to Zelenskyy by saying, “President Putin? You’re going to beat President Putin.”
Biden just introduced Zelensky as “President Putin” before correcting himself.
Wow! This is insanely insulting. pic.twitter.com/ANLx73kGZw — Ridvan Aydemir | Apostate Prophet (@ApostateProphet) July 11, 2024
When a reporter mentioned his “Vice President Trump” slip and noted the Republican nominee’s campaign was already capitalizing on it, Biden responded defiantly, saying, “Listen to him,” before exiting the stage.
Minutes later, Rep. Jim Himes, a House Democrat from Connecticut, issued a statement urging the president to withdraw from the race.