Democrats’ reaction to Biden speaks volumes

Mr. Biden made a regrettable gaffe in the first question, calling Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump.”

He was asked whether Ms Harris would be able to take on the top job.

“I would not have chosen Vice President Trump to be vice president if I thought she was not qualified to be president, so let’s start there,” he said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat in the audience with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

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

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

Biden’s blunder with Putin

President Biden caused a stir Thursday night (local time) when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin,” confusing him with the Russian tyrant whose forces have been invading Ukraine for the past two and a half years.

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

The Republicans immediately took advantage of this mistake.

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

Republican Rep. Jerry Carl wrote: “Just the latest example that Biden is completely unfit for the job.”

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres responded: “The media is carefully monitoring the president’s every word for signs of aging, and every gaffe, no matter how small, only compounds an already entrenched narrative. That’s the problem.”

Meanwhile, reactions were pouring in from all corners of social media.

ABC News reporter Will Steakin wrote: “One House Democrat told me in response 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 added: “Biden is presenting Zelensky as ‘President Putin’. Enough is enough. This cannot continue. Not for this dangerous election and certainly not for four years that will undermine the credibility of the United States. America needs the Democratic administration, but a new leader at the helm.”

Journalist Jack Parrock joked: “We all know Biden doesn’t think so. It’s an accident/mistake. But casting Zelensky as Putin is probably THE biggest blunder you can make in international diplomacy right now.”

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

The US president quickly apologized for the embarrassing gaffe, saying it was 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 that we have to worry about that,” Biden said. “No matter what, Mr. President.”

The 46-year-old Ukrainian leader frowned and shook his head before joking: “I’m better.”

“You’re much better,” Biden replied.

The humiliating confusion came as Biden and the leaders of 19 other nations gathered to announce the signing of the Ukraine Compact, a new security agreement between Kiev and the United States, 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 almost managed to complete his speech announcing the pact without any major gaffes, relying on teleprompters throughout.

Zelensky shrugged off the gaffe and took to the podium to congratulate the group on creating the pact, which is little more than a consolation prize after Ukraine did not receive a formal invitation to join the 32-nation alliance at the three-day summit.

Instead, the document vaguely committed signatories to “supporting Ukraine’s immediate defense and security needs,” with few details.

For example, in the event of a new Russian attack on Ukraine after the current war, the pact stipulates that its members “will meet promptly and collectively at the highest levels to determine appropriate next steps to support Ukraine in exercising its right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, including the provision of prompt and sustained security assistance and the imposition of economic and other costs on Russia.”

The pact also provides for the continuation of the U.S.-created Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, which meets monthly to coordinate international arms shipments to kyiv and discuss its needs.

Although the project is the brainchild of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, NATO is working to hand over responsibility for the task force to the rest of the alliance — likely to ensure the operation continues if Biden is defeated in November, insiders said.

– with the New York Post