The White House is ringing alarm bells again. After Joe Biden tried to allay concerns about his ability to hold on to one of the most important jobs in the world, the 81-year-old president has made a new mistake.
On Thursday, during the NATO summit in Washington, Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by referring to him as “President Putin,” causing immense confusion in the room, judging by the timid applause.
Moments after his grave mistake, Biden himself rectified and said that he was so focused on beating Putin that he had made a mistake. Zelensky, for his part, took it with humor and said: “I am better.”
Leaders of several NATO countries downplayed the lapse. French President Emmanuel Macron gave his support to Biden at a press conference, asking for “indulgence” for the US president.
“We have all made mistakes. It has happened to me before and it will certainly happen again. I would ask for the same indulgence that must be shown between good people,” said Macron.
After the endorsement, Biden assured that the leaders present had not asked him to end his candidacy for the November elections, but rather to beat his possible rival, former Republican president Donald Trump.
“I haven’t had a single European ally come to me and say, Joe, don’t run. What I hear them saying is, you have to win,” Biden said at a news conference on the final day of the NATO summit.
However, Zelensky’s was not the only mistake of the day. During the question round at the press conference, Biden made another gaffe when he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” prompting immediate ridicule from Trump himself.
In recent months, Biden’s hesitations, lapses and verbal gaffes have become increasingly frequent, but despite this, he has made it clear at all times that he still intends to run for re-election.
El actor George Clooneya well-known Democratic activist and personal friend of Joe Biden, has in recent days joined those within the Democratic Party who are calling for the president to withdraw from the re-election campaign.
In an article published in the newspaper New York TimesClooney said Biden was too old to continue leading the country and warned that if he did not step down, the Party would lose the election.
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as a president. I consider him a friend and I believe in him. I believe in his character. I believe in his morals. Over the last four years, he has won many of the battles he has faced. But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can,” she wrote.
“It’s devastating to say, but the Joe Biden I saw three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all saw at the debate,” he added.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also suggested President Joe Biden reconsider his decision to stay in the race for re-election. However, Pelosi, 84, three years older than Biden, stressed that she would support him “regardless of what he decides.”