US President Joe Biden has made several verbal blunders and gaffes in the last few years. From verbal gaffes to falling incidents, Mr Biden, whose age is often targeted by opposition leaders and remains a cause of concern for voters, has faced it all. The 81-year-old Biden has made many laugh heartily and surprised others with his misunderstood personality. Now, as the US elections approach, questions about the US President’s eligibility to serve four more years – or win the November election – continue to be raised. However, despite growing concerns about his mental acuity and candidacy, Mr Biden has repeatedly insisted on staying in the race. He has claimed that he is the “most qualified” to defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and govern the country.
But there is no doubt that Mr Biden’s age is of particular concern to voters. Republican underdog Nikki Haley has repeatedly sought to draw attention to her rival’s advancing age. In a recent interview she even joked that President Biden’s South Carolina primary vote count would also serve as a fine campaign slogan: “So close to 100.”
Donald Trump, on the other hand, has also worked hard to show that his opponent is too old, at one point warning that Mr Biden’s tendency to make mistakes could lead to nuclear war and referring to him as “a guy who can’t put two sentences together”. Mr Trump also recently posted a spoof ad for “White House Senior Living” on social media.
However, Joe Biden has hit back, highlighting his own mistakes in the bizarre comments made by Mr Trump at his campaign rallies.
Still, there’s no denying that Mr Biden has made more than his fair share of mistakes and blunders over the years. From confusing European leaders to misidentifying his own Vice President Kamala Harris at a recent press conference, the 81-year-old Biden has made numerous mistakes during statements, speeches or public remarks. According to an AFP report, in some cases, White House staff have had to edit official transcripts to align the president’s words with public policy stances or completely change the meaning of his statements.
Here are some of the mistakes made by US presidents in recent years:
Joe Biden’s mistake with Ukraine’s leader
While speaking to reporters about NATO’s support for Ukraine earlier this week, the 81-year-old shocked everyone by accidentally referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” in front of assembled world leaders.
“And now I’d like to turn it over to the president of Ukraine, who has shown as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Mr Biden said during the speech. However, he quickly realised his mistake and apologised. But the embarrassing moment was witnessed by all present, with the president explaining that it happened because he was “too focused on defeating” the Kremlin leader.
Calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump”
At the same conference, when asked about Vice President Kamala Harris, he mistakenly referred to her as “Vice President Trump.” He said, “Look, if Vice President Trump was not qualified to be president, I would not have chosen her as vice president. So let’s start there.”
In addition, the 81-year-old also had difficulty finding the term “chief of staff,” mistakenly referring to the group of the country’s top uniformed military leaders as “commanders in chief” — the position he holds as president.
Mistaking Egypt for Mexico
In February this year, Mr Biden mistook Egypt for Mexico while referring to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. “The president of Mexico did not want to open the gates to let humanitarian material in,” he said. “I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gates,” he added.
Confusing world leaders
That same month, the US president mistakenly claimed to have met Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996, at the G7 summit in 2021. “Mitterrand, from Germany — I mean, from France — looked at me and said, ‘You know, what… why… how long have you been back?’” President Biden told his shocked audience.
That same week he also said he had spoken to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, about the Jan. 6 riots, which happened in 2021. He was thinking of Angela Merkel.
Forgetting Hamas’ name
In February, Mr Biden failed to remember Hamas by name while speaking at a press conference. He was asked a question about hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The 81-year-old said, “There’s some movement, and I don’t want to, I don’t want to…” and then paused. “Let me choose my words – there’s some movement, there’s been some reaction… uh…”
“There has been a response … from the opposition, but, umm — ” Mr. Biden said, seeming confused about what he wanted to say, eventually saying after some guidance, “Yes, I’m sorry, from Hamas.”
Stumbling on the stairs of Air Force One
In July 2023, Joe Biden stumbled awkwardly on the steps of Air Force One. He was walking up to board the presidential plane in Finland when he tripped. “Halfway up he felt a little unsteady, but he kept going. He waved to the staff at the terminal outside and walked in,” Independent informed of.
Conflating the wars in Ukraine and Iraq
Last year, the US president likened the ongoing war in Ukraine to the Iraq War, which ended in 2011. He was speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn before heading to Chicago when he was asked if he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin had been weakened by the Wagner Group uprising that summer.
Mr Biden responded by saying President Putin is “clearly losing the war in Iraq”.
“God Save the Queen”
In 2023, Mr Biden made another verbal gaffe when he ended a speech on gun control with the declaration: “God save the queen, man”. The gaffe shocked people and led to confusion over whether he was referring to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, or Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles III, who was crowned in a lavish coronation ceremony in London just a month earlier.
However, the White House later attempted to clarify the bizarre reference by saying he was merely “commenting on someone in the crowd.”
Biden’s gaffe with former UK PM Rishi Sunak
When Mr Biden hosted Rishi Sunak as Britain’s prime minister at the White House in June 2023, he mistakenly called him “Mr President”. As they smiled and posed for photos, Rishi Sunak, 81, said: “Well, Mr President…”
After this he immediately corrected his mistake and jokingly said, “Prime Minister, I have demoted you.”
Mistake about Ireland
Last year, Mr Biden conflated the name of New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team with the notorious British paramilitary force, the Black and Tans, during a visit to Ireland. ” “See, I have this tie, this shamrock tie? It was given to me by a guy here who is a great rugby player who beat the Black and Tans really bad,” he said.
He later corrected his mistake during the speech and the White House later said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans that the president was referring to the New Zealand rugby team.
Taking a nap at COP26
In a viral video, 81-year-old Biden was caught falling asleep while working at the COP26 climate change conference in Scotland in 2021. In the video, Mr Biden was seen dozing off during the climate summit’s opening speech, with his eyes fluttering shut for over 20 seconds at one point. An assistant was seen coming over to push him awake.
Biden falling off his bicycle
In 2022, Mr Biden fell off a bicycle near his Delaware beach home, just moments after greeting reporters by waving and cheerfully saying “good morning.” When asked why he fell, he said his “toe cages” on his bike got stuck.
shaking hands out of thin air
In 2022, a video of US President Joe Biden shocked the internet, showing him shaking hands with no one after delivering a speech. There was no one on stage next to him at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, where he delivered a 40-minute speech.
The 81-year-old President finished his speech and then turned to the right, extending his hand in a handshake pose. But there was no one on the stage who could respond to this gesture of the US President.
