When US President Joe Biden took to the stage at the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday night, his main goal was to allay fears that he was too old to run for re-election. But, what ensued was another gaffe when he addressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as 'President Putin', prompting loud gasps in the audience.
Flanked by Nato leaders during a signing ceremony alongside Zelenskyy on the final day of the Nato summit in Washington, Biden said: "And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin."
European leaders in attendance gave a hesitant applause while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were seen sporting surprised looks.
Biden, on realising his mistake, corrected himself quickly. "Going to beat President Putin, President Zelenskyy. I am so focused on beating Putin," Biden said. "We’ve got to worry about it. Anyway, Mr President."
"I’m better," Zelenskyy said, shaking Biden’s hand. "You are a hell of a lot better," Biden responded.
Soon after, the President gave a Press Conference, tagged a make-or-break event that would have repercussions on his campaign. He defended himself, "I was talking about Putin and I said, and now, the very end. I said here I mean, Putin. I said, ‘No, I’m sorry. Zelenskyy," Biden told a reporter who asked about the misspeak. "And then I added five other names."
The hour-long press conference, ironically, began with another gaffe, when he addressed Vice President Kamala Harris as Trump. In his very first response, Biden was asked if he was concerned about Harris’ ability to beat Trump if she were tapped to run against him. "I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be president," he said.
The President continued to defend his candidature, saying he was not in the presidential race for his legacy but to "complete the job I started".
He added that he was the best-qualified person to compete against Trump and vowed to keep moving. "I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once and I will beat him again," Biden said, adding that "there’s a long way to go this campaign, and so I’m just going to keep moving."
Biden also pushed back questions about his fitness for office. On whether he has thought about his legacy in the wake of his debate performance, he replied: "I’m not in this for my legacy. I’m in this to complete the job I started".
The President also added that he has not had any of my European allies come up and say, 'Joe, don’t run’. What I’ve heard them say is, ‘You’ve got to win'. "If I slow down and can’t get the job done that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing this," he said. "But there’s no indication of that. None."