He calls Zelensky ‘Putin’ and Kamala Harris ‘Trump’, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, NATO, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, world news, Biden

Washington: US President Joe Biden, who is under intense scrutiny due to his advanced age, introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin at a NATO event on Thursday and later, during a solo press conference in Washington, confused the name of Vice President Kamala Harris with that of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“And now I want to turn it over to the courageous and determined President of Ukraine, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden, 81, said at the NATO summit in Washington on July 10, sending shockwaves through the room.

After a two-second pause, he immediately corrected himself and said: “I’m going to beat President Putin, President Zelensky. I’m so focused on beating Putin.”

Zelensky responded to Biden’s comments with “I’m better (than Putin),” to which Biden replied “You’re much better,” as some in the room laughed, before Zelensky began his own speech.

Other leaders at the NATO summit answered questions about Biden, and their responses were largely favorable.

“We all make mistakes sometimes,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “It happened to me and it could happen again tomorrow. I ask for your indulgence.”

Later, in a solo news conference, Biden was repeatedly asked about concerns about his age as part of his candidacy. He responded: “I have to finish the job.”

In an embarrassing gaffe, he mistakenly referred to his running mate Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

“I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,” Biden said in response to a question about his confidence in Harris.

CNN reported that Trump took advantage of the verbal spat to post a message on Truth Social to mark the moment.

“Scoundrel Joe begins his ‘Big Boy’ press conference by saying, ‘I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be Vice President, even though I think she was unqualified to be President.’ Good job, Joe!” Trump wrote, along with a video clip of the moment, CNN reported.

Biden’s re-election campaign has been struggling for two weeks following his debate performance against his opponent, 78-year-old Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, four other House Democrats have called on Biden to end his campaign: Brad Schneider of Illinois, Greg Stanton of Arizona, Ed Case of Hawaii and Hillary Scholten of Michigan.

“For the sake of our country, it is time for the president to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders,” Stanton said in a prepared statement.

Following that, some Democratic senators said they were still uncertain about Biden’s ability to win after meeting with Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon and other top aides.