US President Joe Biden defends himself after Zelensky introduces him/her as Putin

US President Joe Biden has defended himself after he/she called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy an impersonator of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was their “most successful summit” in a long time.

Addressing a press conference after the NATO summit in Washington DC, Biden asked reporters if they had seen a more successful summit.

Responding to a question on his/her remarks confusing Zelensky with Putin, Biden said, “Have you seen any harm to our position in leading up to this summit? Have you seen a more successful summit? What do you think? And the Putin part, I was talking about Putin and I said, “And now at the very end, I said here, I mean Putin. I said, no, I’m sorry, Zelensky”. Then I added five other names.”

“Look, folks, for anybody to suggest that our summit wasn’t incredibly successful, how many times did you hear that at that summit? I know it sounds very selfish, but other leaders and heads of state thanked me, saying the reason we’re together is because of Biden, because Biden did the following. This was my most successful summit in a long time and I met a world leader who didn’t think that way,” he/she said.

Biden’s statement came after he/she introduced the Ukrainian president as President Putin and later corrected his/her mistake.

In his/her remarks at an event on the Ukraine Compact, Biden said, “Now I’d like to turn it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he/she has resolve. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”

he/she quickly corrected himself and said, “he/she’s going to beat President Putin — President Zelensky. I’m so focused on beating Putin that we have to worry about that.”

After calling Zelensky Putin, Biden confused Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump.

When asked if he/she had concerns about Harris’ ability to defeat Donald Trump if she decided not to run for re-election, Biden replied, “Look, I wouldn’t choose Vice President Trump to be vice president. But, I think he/she’s not qualified to be president.”

Donald Trump mocked Biden’s verbal mistakes during the press conference on his/her social media platform Truth Social.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Crooked Joe started his/her ‘Big Boy’ press conference with, ‘I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be my Vice President, even though I think she was not qualified to be President. Great job, Joe.'”

In response, Biden said in a post on X, “By the way: yes, I know the difference. One is a prosecutor, and the other is a criminal.”

Biden’s verbal gaffe comes at a time when he/she is being closely watched over his/her advancing age. US President Joe Biden has vowed he/she will stay in the race until the end of the November election, even though Democrats have privately asked him/her to drop out.

Biden has firmly stood his/her ground and told congressional Democrats in a letter Monday that he/she would continue his/her effort to contest the election despite growing concerns about his/her mental state.

Biden said he/she would not run for re-election “if I did not have total confidence that I could defeat Donald Trump.”

he/she said, “I want to tell you that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I remain firmly committed to staying in this race, to staying in this race until the end, and to defeating Donald Trump.”

Furthermore, he/she also said, “We have 42 days until the Democratic Convention and 119 days until the general election,” Biden said in a letter distributed by his/her reelection campaign. In the letter, Biden called for unity among his/her party, stressing the need for a collective effort to defeat former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.

“Any weakness in the resolve or lack of clarity about the work ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump,” Biden said.

The letter comes after a group call with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in which the four congressmen explicitly urged Biden to step aside. Some wealthy donors have also reportedly expressed discomfort. Hollywood’s Rob Reiner, who regularly donates to Democratic candidates, said he/she thinks Biden should step aside “because we will lose our democracy if Trump wins.”

At the same time, some of the president’s biggest supporters are doubling down on the fight for Biden’s presidency, insisting there’s no better way to defeat Trump than in what many consider one of the most important elections of their lifetime.