US President Joe Biden confuses Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky with Vladimir Putin in latest gaffe

Biden was speaking at a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington DC on Thursday evening when the gaffe occurred.

The world has been waiting with bated breath for the moment when the 81-year-old might make another mistake, amid widespread speculation about his ability to remain the Democratic candidate in the 2024 US election.

As Biden prepared to introduce Volodymyr Zelensky to speak at the summit, he made a mortifying mistake.

“And now I want to hand over to the President of Ukraine, who has both courage and determination – ladies and gentlemen, Mr Putin,” he said.

Realizing his mistake as he was about to walk away, Biden quickly turned back to the microphone to clarify.

“President Putin? He’s going to beat President Putin,” he said.

“President Zelensky. I am so focused on beating Putin, we have to worry about that.”

As he approached to shake Biden’s hand before taking the microphone, Zelensky said, “I’m better,” prompting some laughter at the conference.

“You’re much better,” Biden replied before handing the floor over to the Ukrainian president.

A confusion of names is not uncommon among politicians, but confusing Zelensky with Putin, after Russia declared war on Ukraine in 2022, is a catastrophic mistake.

Reacting to the incident moments after it happened, Sky News Australia presenter Peter Stefanovic said the White House “just covered its eyes”.

The US Report host James Morrow told Stefanovic that Biden was “finished” after the latest mistake.

“It’s quite bad for a number of reasons. It clarifies what we’ve already seen in the debate,” he said.

“This is the kind of moment that will cause a lot of people in the Democratic Party to say, ‘You know what, this is the end.'”

“This is the moment when we know… it clarifies what has been building for weeks, months and years.”

Biden’s gaffe comes two weeks after his presidential debate with Donald Trump, which sparked deep concern among fellow Democrats about the octogenarian’s ability to continue running for a second term.

The 81-year-old spoke in a hoarse voice, seemed lost at times and stumbled through his incoherent answers during the disastrous night in Atlanta.

He later admitted to “making a mistake” that night and also admitted to nearly falling asleep on stage.

The president held a meeting with top Democrats last week to assure them that he was still fit to continue his presidential campaign.

One of the points raised at the meeting, however, raised fresh concerns when he reportedly stated his desire to stop having commitments after 8pm so he could get more sleep.

Biden said he intends to stay in the race, throwing down the gauntlet to Trump and his fellow Democrats to challenge him, in a letter sent to members of his party on Monday.