Crowd reaction to Joe Biden says it all

Cameras have captured the reaction of Joe Biden’s senior officials when he made a major gaffe at today’s press conference.

Cameras have captured the reaction of Joe Biden’s senior officials when he made a major gaffe at today’s press conference.

Mr Biden made an unfortunate gaffe on the very first question, calling Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump”.

He was asked whether Ms Harris would be be able to step in for the top job.

“I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be Vice President if I think she was not qualified to be President, so let’s start there,” he said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was sitting in the audience with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Mr Blinken, looking pained, blinked and stared at the ground, while Mr Sullivan put his hand on his face.

“Absolutely priceless,” wrote the End Wokeness X account.

Off to a good start. Picture: X

Biden’s Putin gaffe

President Biden drew gasps on Thursday evening (local time) when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin”, confusing him with the Russian tyrant whose forces have invaded Ukraine for the past two-and-a-half years.

The mistake is likely to accelerate calls among congressional Democrats for the 81-year-old to end his bid for a second term, and has already sparked a deluge of online backlash.

Republicans immediately seized on this blunder.

Republican Rep Wesley Parish Hunt exclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin. THIS GUY IS GONE.”

Republican Rep Jerry Carl wrote: “Just the latest example of Biden being totally unfit for the job.”

Democrat Rep Ritchie Torres responded: “The media is carefully monitoring the president’s every word for every hint of ageing, and every gaffe, no matter how benign, serves to further entrench an already entrenched narrative. That’s the problem.”

Meanwhile, reactions poured in from all corners of social media.

ABC News reporter Will Steakin wrote: “A House Dem tells me in reaction to this: ‘This is the greatest introduction of all time … It would be like introducing Winston Churchill and saying ladies and gentlemen Hitler.’”

Commentator Mike Galsworthy chimed in: “Biden introduces Zelensky as “President Putin”. Enough. This can’t go on. Not for this dangerous election and certainly not for four years undermining US credibility after that. America needs the Democrat administration, but a new leader at the helm.”

Journalist Jack Parrock quipped: “We all know Biden doesn’t mean it. It’s an accident/mistake. But announcing Zelenskyy as Putin is surely THE biggest gaff you can make in international diplomacy right now.”

US President Joe Biden gestures after speaking during the Ukraine Compact initiative on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. Picture: AFP

In the wake of Biden’s startling blunder, the incident continues to fuel debates over his fitness for office as the world watches closely.

The US president quickly apologised for the embarrassing flub, saying it happened because he was “so focused on beating” the Kremlin strongman.

“President Putin? We’re going to beat President Putin – President Zelensky. I’m so focused on beating Putin, we got to worry about it,” Biden said. “Anyway, Mr. President.”

The Ukrainian leader, 46, scowled and shook his head before joking, “I’m better.”

“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden responded.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) reacts after being introduced as Russia's President Vladimir Putin by US President Joe Biden. Picture: AFP

The humiliating mixup occurred while Biden and the leaders of 19 other nations were gathered to announce the signing of the Ukraine Compact, a new security agreement between Kyiv and the US, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The president had nearly made it through his entire speech announcing the compact without any major gaffes, relying on teleprompters throughout.

Zelensky shrugged off the gaffe, coming to the podium to praise the group for creating the compact, which serves as little more than a consolation prize after Ukraine did not receive a formal invitation to join the 32-country alliance at the three-day summit.

Instead, the document vaguely committed the signatories to “support Ukraine’s immediate defence and security needs,” with few specifics.

For example, in the event of another Russian attack on Ukraine following the current war, the compact says its members will “convene swiftly and collectively at the most senior levels to determine appropriate next steps in supporting Ukraine as it exercises its right of self-defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter, including the provision of swift and sustained security assistance and the imposition of economic and other costs on Russia.”

The compact also commits to continuing the US-created Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which meets monthly to co-ordinate international weapons shipments to Kyiv and discuss its needs.

While the project was the brainchild of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, NATO has been making efforts to shift the responsibility of the working group to the rest of the alliance – likely to ensure the operation continues should Biden be defeated in November, insiders said.

- with the New York Post