Biden refers to Zelenskyy as Putin before high-stakes press conference
The gaffe comes as President Biden is facing growing calls from within his party to withdraw from the presidential race.
President Biden faced a wave of mockery online after he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin."
"And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination," Biden said at a NATO conference on Thursday in Washington, D.C. "Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin." Biden seemed to realize his embarrassing verbal stumble mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin, and came back to the lectern to correct himself.
"President Putin? He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelenskyy. I’m so focused on beating Putin," he said. "We got to worry about it. Anyway, Mr. President."
Commentators across social media responded with mockery and dread about America's commander-in-chief is mixing up world leaders on a global stage.
"Anyone else might be able to explain this away, but he’s making way too many mistakes to not take a hit for this gaffe," former Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker wrote. "@JoeBiden was not fit to be President in 2020, nor is he now."
President Biden faced a wave of mockery online after he accidentally introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin." (Mikhail KLIMENTYEV / Sputnik / AFP))
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The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller mused about the prospect of being "a fly on the wall of the House Democrats watching when this happened... right off the bat."
"Biden calls Zelensky ‘President Putin’ in front of the entire world. He’s humiliating our entire country," commentator Rogan O’Handley, better known as DC_Draino wrote in a post.
"We’ve been watching Biden fall up stairs, down steps, on stages, off bikes, shaking hands with the air, and fumble on the world stage for years," former New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin said in a post on X. "Dems and the media told us not to believe our eyes. The alarming change lately hasn’t been Biden’s health. It's been his polling."
"Joe Biden introduced Vlodymyr Zelenskyy as President Putin," TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk wrote. "This really just happened. Not a cheap fake."
Pundits and Democratic Party members have been calling on Biden to abandon his re-election due to concerns about his mental fitness for the presidency and cognitive ability. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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"[L]adies and gentlemen, President Lenin," Jessica O’Donnell of The Blaze joked.
Tech entrepreneur Brian Costello suggested, "If he wasn't running the country this would be the funniest SNL skit ever created."
Even the Biden campaign team appeared to respond to the controversy, noting how Biden recovered from his gaffe, but it did sparked a second wave of mockery on social media.
The National Pulse’s editor-in-chief Raheem Kassam wrote in response, "Biden’s own social media team are trying to push him out."
"You guys okay over there?" NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck wrote.
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"So bizarre for them to post this," Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin wrote.
The Trump campaign’s social media account, MAGA War Room joked, "It appears one of our employees logged into the wrong account."
Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
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