Biden's age is a hot topic for opposition leaders and remains a source of concern for American voters.
US President Joe Biden has made countless verbal gaffes and blunders over the years. From verbal missteps to near falls, Mr Biden, whose age is a frequent target of opposition leaders and remains a concern for voters, has had it all. The 81-year-old has made many laugh and shocked others with his gaffe-prone personality. With the US election looming, questions continue to loom over the US president’s fitness to serve another four years – or win in November. Despite mounting concerns about his mental acuity and candidacy, Mr Biden has repeatedly pushed to stay in the race, claiming he was the “most qualified” to both defeat the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and govern the country.
But there’s no doubt that Mr. Biden’s age is a particular concern for voters. Republican underdog Nikki Haley has repeatedly sought to draw attention to the advanced ages of her competitors. In a recent interview, she also joked that President Biden’s vote count in South Carolina would double as a nice campaign slogan: “Very close to 100.”
Donald Trump, on the other hand, has also worked hard to suggest that his rival is too old, at one point warning that Biden’s propensity for gaffes could lead to nuclear war and describing him as a “man who can’t put two sentences together.” Trump also recently posted a parody of the “White House Senior Living” commercial on social media.
However, Joe Biden has pushed back and staged his own gaffes with bizarre comments Trump made at his campaign rallies.
Still, there’s no denying that Mr. Biden has made more than his fair share of mistakes and gaffes over the years. From confusing European leaders to misidentifying his own Vice President, Kamala Harris, during a recent press conference, the 81-year-old has made plenty of errors during statements, speeches or public remarks. In some cases, White House staff have also had to make corrections to official transcripts to align the president’s words with public policy positions or change the meaning of his statements entirely, according to a report by AFP.
Here are some of the US President's blunders in recent years:
Joe Biden's blunder with Ukraine's leader
Speaking to reporters earlier this week about NATO's support for Ukraine, the 81-year-old raised eyebrows when he incorrectly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” in front of world leaders in attendance.
“And now I want to turn it over to the president of Ukraine, who has shown equal parts courage and determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said during the speech. He quickly realized his mistake and apologized. But the embarrassing moment was seen by everyone in attendance, with the president explaining that it happened because he was “so focused on defeating” the Kremlin leader.
Referring Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”
At the same conference, when asked about his Vice President Kamala Harris, he accidentally referred to her as “Vice President Trump.” “Look, I would not have chosen Vice President Trump as vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,” he said.
In addition, the 81-year-old struggled to find the words “chief of staff,” incorrectly referring to the group of the country's top military leaders as “supreme commander,” the title he bears as president.
Confusing Egypt with Mexico
In February of this year, Biden appeared to confuse Egypt with Mexico when he referred to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East. “The president of Mexico did not want to open the gate to let in humanitarian material,” he said. “I spoke to him. I convinced him to open the gate,” he added.
Confusing world leaders
That same month, the US president falsely claimed to have met Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996, at the 2021 G7 summit. “Mitterrand from Germany — I mean, from France — looked at me and said, ‘You know, what… why… how long have you been gone?'” President Biden told his astonished listeners.
That same week, he also said that he had spoken to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, about the January 6 riots, which took place in 2021. He was thinking of Angela Merkel.
Forgotten the name Hamas
In February, Biden appeared unable to remember the name of Hamas during a press conference when he was asked about the hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
“There's some movement, and I don't want to, I don't want to…” the 81-year-old said, then paused. “Let me choose my words – there's some movement, there's… a reaction from the, uh…”
“There has been a reaction … from … the opposition, but, uh — ” Mr. Biden said. He sounded confused about what he meant to say, and eventually said after some guidance: “Yes, I'm sorry, from Hamas.”
Tripping on the steps 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. “About halfway up, he appeared to stumble very slightly, but he kept walking. He turned to wave to the staff on the tarmac and went inside,” the Independent reported.
Confusing the Wars in Ukraine and Iraq
Last year, the US president conflated the ongoing war in Ukraine with the war in Iraq, which ended in 2011. He was speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before leaving for Chicago when he was asked whether he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin had been weakened by the Wagner Group mutiny that summer.
Biden responded by saying that President Putin was “clearly losing the war in Iraq.”
“God save the queen”
In 2023, Biden also made a verbal gaffe when he bizarrely closed a speech on gun control with the proclamation, “God save the Queen, man.” The misstep raised eyebrows and led to confusion over whether he was referring to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, or King Charles III’s wife, Queen Camilla, who had been crowned a month earlier in a grand coronation ceremony in London.
However, the White House later attempted to explain the bizarre reference, saying he was merely “making a comment to someone in the crowd.”
Biden's blunder with former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
When Biden welcomed Rishi Sunak to the White House as UK Prime Minister in June 2023, he accidentally addressed him as “Mr. President.” As they smiled and posed for photos, the 81-year-old said, “Well, Mr. President…”
He quickly corrected himself and joked, “I just demoted you, Mr. Prime Minister.”
Blunder about Ireland
Last year, Mr. Biden confused the name of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team with the reviled British paramilitary force, the Black and Tans, during a visit to Ireland. “You see this tie I have, this four-leaf clover tie? I got it from one of these guys here, a great rugby player who beat the hell out of the Black and Tans,” he said.
He subsequently corrected himself 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.
Sleeping during COP26
In a viral video, the 81-year-old was caught sleeping on the job during the 2021 COP26 climate conference in Scotland. In the video, Biden appeared to fall asleep during the opening speech of the climate summit, with his eyes at one point watering for more than 20 seconds. An aide could be seen approaching him and pushing him awake.
Biden falls off his bike
In 2022, Biden fell from his bicycle near his beachfront home in Delaware, moments after greeting reporters with a wave and a cheerful “Good morning!” When asked what caused the fall, he replied that his bike’s “toe cages” had gotten caught.
Shaking hands with thin air
In 2022, a video of U.S. President Joe Biden turning to shake someone’s hand after a speech caused confusion online. There was no one standing next to him on stage at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, where he was delivering a 40-minute speech.
The 81-year-old finished his speech and then turned to his right with his hand extended in a handshake position. But there was no one on stage to respond to the US president's gesture.
