Biden introduces Ukraine’s Zelensky as ‘President Putin’ in front of NATO leaders in latest brutal gaffe
President Biden drew gasps Thursday evening when he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” — confusing him with the Russian tyrant whose forces have invaded Ukraine for the past two and a half years.
“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination,” Biden said. “Ladies and gentlemen, President [Vladimir] Putin. “
Many in the auditorium appeared to wince as the words left the president’s lips. One audience member shouted “Zelensky!” in an attempt to correct the 81-year-old Biden.
World leaders onstage appeared unsure of whether to clap to welcome Zelensky or wait for Biden to correct himself.
The US president quickly apologized for the embarrassing flub, saying it happened 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, we got to worry about it,” Biden said.
“Anyway, Mr. President.”
The Ukrainian leader, 46, scowled and shook his head before joking, “I’m better.”
“You are a hell of a lot better,” Biden responded.
The humiliating mix-up occurred while Biden and the leaders of other nations were gathered to announce the signing of the Ukraine Compact, a new security agreement between Kyiv and the US and allies including 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 had nearly made it through his entire speech announcing the compact without any major gaffes, relying on teleprompters throughout.
The mistake is likely to accelerate calls among congressional Democrats for the octogenarian to end his bid for a second term.
Zelensky shrugged off the gaffe, coming to the podium to praise the group for creating the compact, which serves as little more than a consolation prize after Ukraine did not receive a formal invitation to join the 32-country alliance at the three-day summit.
Instead, the document vaguely committed the signatories to “support Ukraine’s immediate defense and security needs,” with few specifics.
For example, in the event of another Russian attack on Ukraine following the current war, the compact says its members will “convene swiftly and collectively at the most senior levels to determine appropriate next steps in supporting Ukraine as it exercises its right of self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter, including the provision of swift and sustained security assistance and the imposition of economic and other costs on Russia.”
The compact also commits to continuing the US-created Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which meets monthly to coordinate international weapons shipments to Kyiv and discuss its needs.
While the project was the brainchild of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, NATO has been making efforts to shift the responsibility of the working group to the rest of the alliance — likely to ensure the operation continues should Biden be defeated in November, insiders have told The Post.
