'Resignation Pressure' US Biden, Introducing Zelensky, Misspeaks Saying "President Putin"

U.S. President Joe Biden, who is facing calls to withdraw from the presidential race amid controversies over his age, has now come under scrutiny for mistakenly introducing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin (Russian President Vladimir Putin)."

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

According to CNN and other outlets, on the 11th (local time), the final day of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, President Biden, at an event related to Ukraine held in Washington, said, "I want to turn this over to the Ukrainian president, who has as much courage as decisiveness. Please welcome President Putin."

After mistakenly calling President Zelenskyy "President Putin," he immediately realized the error and corrected himself, saying, "We are focused on defeating President Putin. President Zelenskyy." He then added, "I am so focused on defeating President Putin. We need to worry about him. Anyway, Mr. President."

This verbal slip drew attention especially because it occurred just before President Biden’s solo press conference scheduled for that evening. Facing intense pressure to resign since last month’s first televised debate, President Biden aimed to demonstrate his resilience and dispel concerns about his age and cognitive decline through this unscripted press conference. Accordingly, the press conference was expected to be a critical turning point in determining his future as the Democratic presidential candidate.

CNN reported, "Amid growing political pressure to withdraw from the presidential race, this is a decisive moment," adding that "it will further fuel the controversy surrounding President Biden’s cognitive decline."

This is not the first time President Biden has misnamed a major world leader. In February, he confused the names of French President Emmanuel Macron and former President Fran?ois Mitterrand. At that time, he said, "Mitterrand of Germany, no, Mitterrand of France was looking at me."

Additionally, in 2022, he mistakenly referred to Ukraine as Iran. In one interview, he sparked controversy by saying he was "the first Black woman to work with a Black president."

Meanwhile, President Biden’s solo press conference, intended to dispel calls for his withdrawal from the presidential race, was delayed by an hour from the original schedule and is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day, which corresponds to around 7:30 a.m. on the 12th in Korean time.