US President Joe Biden looks down as he takes part in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election with former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (Photo: AFP)
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden made a gaffe on Thursday when he incorrectly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian adversary Vladimir Putin at a NATO summit, just hours before a press conference that could decide the fate of his re-election bid.
Biden, 81, quickly corrected himself and Zelensky joked that he was “better than Putin,” but the gaffe reinforced concerns about Biden’s age and mental ability following his disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump two weeks ago.
“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, a man who has as much courage as he has resolve, President Putin,” Biden said as he announced the NATO-Ukraine deal at a summit in Washington.
Biden turned away from the podium, walked back and shouted, “President Putin! He’s going to defeat President Putin. President Zelensky, you have to worry about me because I’m focused on defeating Putin. Anyway, Mr. President.”
“‘I’m fine,'” replied Zelenskiy, a former TV comedian turned Ukraine wartime leader against a 2022 Russian invasion.
Biden’s Republican rivals circulated the video within minutes.
The gaffe couldn’t have come at a worse time: Biden was scheduled to hold what the White House called a “big boy” news conference on Thursday, his first major public appearance since the debate.
The appearance, a rare unscripted solo appearance with reporters, came amid growing calls within the Democratic Party for him to resign.
The press conference was due to start at 6:30 pm (22:30 GMT) but is expected to be delayed by around an hour.
Democrats have been calling for Biden to abandon his 2024 presidential bid.
Hollywood actor and Democratic supporter George Clooney has called on Biden to drop out of the race, while Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has stopped short of fully endorsing Biden.
About 14 Democrats in the House and one Democrat in the Senate publicly urged the president, who defeated Trump four years ago, to withdraw from the election.
A poll released Thursday showed that more than half of Democrats said Biden should not seek a second term and two-thirds of Americans thought he should drop out of the race.
– “Catastrophic” –
But a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found the former president and the current president were neck and neck, with approval ratings at 46%.
But the Biden campaign has been quietly testing the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris in preparation for a possible showdown with Trump, The New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, the paper, citing anonymous sources, said some of the president’s longtime aides were discussing ways to persuade him to step down.
The White House said the report was “clearly” false.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said Thursday he was speaking with party representatives, adding that he would then “meet as a leadership team to consider next steps.”
Once a vocal leader, Biden has held fewer news conferences than his predecessor, and in recent days has only met with foreign leaders, limiting questions to two per person.
Combined with the dearth of interviews, critics have accused the White House of covering up the effects of aging on America’s oldest president.
Biden called his debate gaffe a “bad night” and blamed it on a cold and jet lag.
But Clooney sought to dismiss any notion it was a one-off incident, saying that while it was “tragic” to admit, the signs were evident at a fundraiser he hosted in Los Angeles on June 15.
Biden has announced his intention to run for president in November and has already won the votes in the Democratic primary, so there is no realistic way to oust him.
His campaign hit back on Thursday, the final day of the NATO summit, with a new ad campaign portraying Trump as Putin’s “pet dog.”
NATO allies are also seeking reassurance from Biden about his leadership skills, trying to allay concerns that the return of an isolationist Trump who praised Putin could pose problems for the alliance.
