During a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday, President Joe Biden accidentally referred to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“Now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination,” Biden said. “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.”
In response to the clip, one House Democrat said,“This is the greatest introduction of all time … It would be like introducing Winston Churchill and saying ladies and gentlemen Hitler.”
After the mistake was registered, Biden quickly corrected himself: “President Putin? We’re gonna beat President Putin,” he said. “President Zelenskyy! I’m so focused on beating Putin. We got to worry about it — anyway, Mr. President.”
A longtime Biden adviser told CNN: “I just think there is an unfortunate inevitability to all this. I am sad because I have known him a long time and he is a good man. I am angry at his inner circle who have not served him well and at times committed malpractice in their service. And I am frustrated at the family for not expanding the circle so there would be a truth teller or two in their midst. They created a perfect storm of an echo chamber and it is biting them all in the a*s.”