Joe Biden calls Ukraine's Zelensky 'President Putin' to his face in biggest gaffe yet - then calls his No2 Kamala Harris 'Vice President Trump' as more senior Democrats call on ailing 81-year-old to drop out of White House race Follow our U.S. politics blog for all the updates in Biden's fight for survival READ MORE: World leaders 'concerned' about Biden's cognitive decline at NATO By Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter Published: 02:23 EDT, 12 July 2024 | Updated: 02:26 EDT, 12 July 2024 e-mail View comments Joe Biden's attempts to show he is not senile have backfired spectacularly on the world stage after he muddled President Zelensky with President Putin and then called Kamala Harris 'Vice President Trump'.
The US President's worst ever gaffes came at a NATO summit in Washington and left his political future further hanging by a thread. Mr Biden gave his most important speech in months - but it quickly fell to pieces as he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by the name of his sworn enemy and Ukraine's tormentor. The 81-year-old Leader of the Free World, who is facing mounting calls to drop out of the presidential race, said: 'Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin'.
It sparked gasps from world leaders and Biden's team of aides in the room shouted the correct name. A clearly panicked Biden then corrected himself and said: 'No, we're going to beat Putin'. He then blamed the blunder on being 'so focused' on defeating the Russian leader who invaded Ukraine two-and-a-.