Today’s news / Biden mistakenly calls Zelensky ‘Putin’ at NATO
- "Sorry, I've just been so focused on Putin," Biden said, after he noticed his own mistake. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Ritzau Scanpix

Biden mistakenly calls Zelensky ‘Putin’ at NATO

At the NATO summit, U.S. President Joe Biden accidentally introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as ‘President Putin’. This mistake added to the pressure on Biden, who is already facing calls from his own party to step down. Biden corrected himself, emphasizing his intent to defeat Putin. The blunder followed the signing of new security assurances to Ukraine. Zelensky quipped he was ‘better’ than Putin, prompting Biden to agree enthusiastically. The incident comes amidst increasing scrutiny on Biden’s leadership, with 13 House Democrats withdrawing support and Senator Peter Welch urging him not to run in the next election. Despite trailing Trump by 2.1 points in FiveThirtyEight’s polls, Biden has dismissed suggestions of withdrawing from the presidential race.