Biden introduced Zelenskyy. It didn’t go well: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin’
With the world watching his every word, Biden needed to avoid any gaffes at the NATO summit. He wasn’t able to.
President Joe Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” on stage at the NATO summit at a ceremony marking the signing of a security agreement for Ukraine.
The gaffe came at the end of a speech by Biden about NATO’s enduring support for Ukraine. He barely stuttered during his remarks as he pledged security guarantees from Western countries beyond the end of the war in Ukraine.
But that was quickly overtaken by a very embarrassing mistake.
As Biden introduced Zelenskyy to give his remarks, the U.S. president said: “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”
Some of the 20-odd European leaders on stage at the ceremony began to clap, but others — unsure how to react to Biden’s error — didn’t do anything at all.
Biden quickly corrected himself, but the solo press conference at the end of the NATO summit has been seen as an important moment for Biden to assert his strength as a leader and prove that his presidential campaign can survive. And with an intense focus on the president’s mental fitness following his disastrous debate performance late last month, the mistake is likely to dominate the conversation following the end of the summit.
After recognizing his error, Biden attempted to laugh away the slip-up.
“I’m so focused on beating Putin. We gotta worry about it. Anyway…,” Biden said.
“I’m better,” Zelenskyy replied.
“You’re a hell of a lot better,” Biden said.
In his solo press conference Biden made a similar mistake, replacing the last name of Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Donald Trump. This time, he didn’t correct his error.
“I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if she wasn’t qualified to be president,” Biden said.
The president also directly addressed his slip-up with Zelenskyy earlier in the day.
“How many times did you hear in that conference — I know it sounds too self-serving — but other leaders, heads of state in thanking me, saying ‘The reason we’re together is because of Biden,’” he said.
“I thought it was the most successful conference I have attended in a long time and find me a world leader who didn’t think it was,” Biden added.
French President Emmanuel Macron commented on Biden’s mistake in a press conference immediately after the ceremony, brushing it off as no big deal.
“Everyone makes slips of the tongue — it could happen to me tomorrow,” he said.
“I had a long conversation with Joe Biden,” Macron added. “I saw an experienced president, whose attachment to Europe is exemplary. France, Europe, Ukraine are lucky to have such a committed president.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer dodged questions about whether Biden should withdraw from the race in a press conference just minutes after the president’s gaffe with Zelenskyy.
Starmer said that people should “look at the substance” of what has been achieved during the summit.
“President Biden led through all of that,” Starmer said. “That is an incredible achievement of this council.”
But some Republicans immediately pounced on Biden, claiming the mistake was another example that Biden was unfit to serve as president.
“Just the latest example of Biden being totally unfit for the job,” Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) wrote in a post on X.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who has expressed support for Biden remaining the Democratic nominee, blamed the media for amplifying the president’s gaffes.
“The media is carefully monitoring the president’s every word for every hint of aging, and every gaffe, no matter how benign, serves to further entrench an already entrenched narrative,” Torres said. “That’s the problem.”
Laura Kayali, Stefan Boscia and Meredith Lee contributed to this report.
