Biden stumbles over Zelenskyy introduction, calls Ukrainian leader 'President Putin'

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Biden refers to Zelenskyy as Putin before high-stakes press conference

The gaffe comes as President Biden is facing growing calls from within his own party to withdraw from the presidential race.

In his latest embarrassing gaffe, President Biden on Thursday introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO conference in Washington, D.C., 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, before starting to leave the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin."

Biden seemed to realize his embarrassing verbal stumble mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin, and attempted to quickly correct himself.

"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."

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President Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participate in the launching of the Ukraine Compact at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Zelenskyy then appeared on stage and shook Biden’s hand and said, "I’m better."

"You are a hell of a lot better," Biden said.

President Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden’s botched introduction of Zelenskyy comes after the Russian leader waged war on their Eastern European neighbor in February 2022.

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On Feb. 24, 2022, the world watched as Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting an escalation to conflict in the region that has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties.

The Biden administration has given Ukraine billions in aid since the start of the war.

A reporter works in the media center at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Biden's gaffe comes as his first news conference since his debate debacle that has left the Democratic Party scrambling before the presidential election in November.

Biden has bucked calls to drop out, vowing to remain in the race as his campaign and the White House ramp up his number of public events in an apparent effort to quell concerns the president isn’t up for another four-year term in the Oval Office.

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Following his introduction of Zelenskyy, Biden was scheduled to conduct a "big boy" solo news conference sans teleprompters.

The news conference was highly anticipated, with lawmakers saying that Biden's presser would serve as an "ultimate test" following his disastrous debate two weeks ago with former President Trump.