Biden Massive Blunder: Introduces Zelensky As 'President Putin,' Kamala Harris As 'Vice President Trump' Amid Mental Acuity Scrutiny
![President Joe Biden](https://d.enstarz.com/en/full/220217/president-joe-biden.jpg?w=936&f=5db929cb768470e071a5168ee640a479)
President Joe Biden made a series of major blunders Thursday as he faces concerns about his mental acuity and pressure to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin" and referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump" at two separate events Thursday.
The 81-year-old president made the first verbal stumble while introducing Zelensky at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.
"And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination," Biden said in a clip obtained by TMZ. "Ladies and gentlemen -- President Putin."
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He repeated the name of the Russian leader one more time before correcting himself.
"He's gonna beat President Putin, President Zelensky," Biden added.
Following the NATO event, Biden faced reporters at his first solo press conference since his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27.
During the news conference, Biden confused Harris with his Republican opponent.
"Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president [if] I think she's not qualified to be president," he said, as seen in a clip from CNN posted by Pop Base.
Joe Biden mistakenly calls Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump.”
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 11, 2024
pic.twitter.com/VVSuMfCQRH
When a reporter later asked him to comment on the mistake after Trump mocked him over it, Biden smiled and gave a cryptic answer.
"Listen to him," Biden said before walking off stage.
Trump had wasted no time taking jabs at his Democratic opponent over his flubs.
The former president took to Truth Social to share a clip of Biden mistakenly calling Harris Vice President Trump.
"Great job, Joe!" Trump sarcastically wrote alongside the clip.
Biden's gaffes and remarks immediately dominated the trending topics list on X, formerly Twitter.
"President Putin," "Vice President Trump," "Kamala Trump," "Joever," "Oh Joe," and "Listen to him" all trended on X Thursday, with supporters expressing concern and critics mocking Biden.
![Kamala Harris and Joe Biden](https://d.enstarz.com/en/full/216635/kamala-harris-joe-biden.jpg?w=936&f=b292bf2356ac516a33b47914de93d387)
Far-right political activist Laura Loomer posted a photo of Harris and Zelensky with the caption: "A beautiful picture of Vice President Trump and President Putin."
"Dude needs a software update ASAP," another wrote of Biden.
One concerned X user wrote, "Is it just me or is this not funny in the slightest? Devastated for all of America."
"Congress needs to ban Trump and Biden and create old age limits to be president like they say a person needs to be a minimum age," another suggested.
"I didn't believe this at first, then I saw the actual clip... Doomed, I tell [you]," another person wrote.
![President Joe Biden](https://d.enstarz.com/en/full/218321/president-joe-biden.jpg?w=936&f=a2f590c8efacbe07f33a149e26b4dce7)
But some defended Biden and insisted that the mistakes were not a sign of mental decline.
"It's like when your mom calls you by your sibling's name [because] she's just speaking fast. It's not an issue. People misspeak all the time," one user tweeted.
During Thursday's news conference, Biden pushed back on the questions about his mental competency.
He insisted that "there's no indication yet" that he's slowing down or showing signs of decline.