Biden’s age is often targeted by opposition leaders and remains a concern for US voters.
US President Joe Biden has made numerous verbal stumbles and gaffes over the years. From verbal slip-ups to near-fall incidents, Mr Biden, whose age is often targeted by opposition leaders and remains a concern for voters, has had all. The 81-year-old has given hearty laughs to many and has shocked others with his blunder-prone personality. Now, with US elections just around the corner, questions about the US President’s fitness to serve four more years – or win November’s election – continue to swirl. However, despite growing concerns about his mental sharpness and candidacy, Mr Biden has repeatedly doubled down on staying in the race. He has asserted that he was the “most qualified” to both defeat the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump and govern the country.
But there is no question that Mr Biden’s age is a cause of particular concern to voters. Republican underdog Nikki Haley has repeatedly tried to draw attention to the advanced ages of her competitors. In a recent interview she also jokingly said that President Biden’s South Carolina primary vote count would also serve as a fine campaign slogan: “Very close to 100.”
Donald Trump, on the other hand, has also worked hard to suggest that his rival is too old, warning at one stage that Mr Biden’s propensity for gaffes could lead to nuclear war and referring to him as a “guy who can’t put two sentences together”. Mr Trump recently also posted a spoof commercial for “White House Senior Living” on social media.
However, Joe Biden has fought back, producing his own gaffe reel of bizarre remarks Mr Trump has made at his campaign rallies.
Still, there is no denying that Mr Biden has made more than his fair share of mistakes and blunders over the years. From mixing up European leaders to misidentifying his own Vice President Kamala Harris at a recent press conference, the 81-year-old has made many mistakes during statements, speeches or public comments. In some instances, White House staff have also had to make corrections to official transcripts in order to align the president’s words with public policy stances or to change the meaning of his statements entirely, according to a report from AFP.
Here are some of the US President’s gaffes over recent years:
Joe Biden’s gaffe with Ukraine leader
While speaking to reporters about NATO’s support for Ukraine earlier this week, the 81-year-old raised eyebrows by mistakenly referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” in front of the assembled world leaders.
“And now I want to hand 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 everyone present, with the President explaining that it occurred because he was “so focused on beating” the Kremlin leader.
Referring to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”
At the same conference, when he was asked about his Vice President Kamala Harris, he mistakenly called her “vice president Trump”. “Look, I wouldn’t have picked vice president Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,” he said.
Moreover, the 81-year-old also struggled to find the words “chief of staff,” mistakenly referring to the group of the country’s top uniformed military leaders as “commander in chief” – the title he holds as president.
Mistaking Egypt for Mexico
In February this year, Mr Biden appeared to confuse Egypt with Mexico while referring to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. “The president of Mexico did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in,” he said. “I talked to him. I convinced to open the gate,” he added.
Confusing world leaders
In the same month, the US President mistakenly claimed to have met Francois Mitterand, 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 you back for?” President Biden told his puzzled listeners.
The same week, he also said that he said that he had spoken to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, about the January 6 riots, which happened in 2021. He was thinking of Angela Merkel.
Forgetting the name of Hamas
In February, Mr Biden appeared unable to recall Hamas’ name while speaking at a press conference. He was asked a question about the hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
“There is some movement, and I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna …,” the 81-year-old said, and then paused. “Let me choose my words – there’s some movement, there’s been … a response from the, uh….”
“There’s been a response … from … the opposition, but, um -” Mr Biden said. He sounded confused about what he meant to say, eventually stating after some guidance, “Yes, I’m sorry, from Hamas.”
Tripping on the steps to Air Force One
In July 2023, Joe Biden stumbled awkwardly on the stairs of Air Force One. He was walking up to board the presidential plane in Finland when he stumbled. “About half way up he appeared to stumble very slightly but kept walking on up. He turned to wave to the staff out on the tarmac and went in,” the Independent reported.
Muddling up the wars in Ukraine and Iraq
Last year, the US President muddled up the ongoing war in Ukraine with the Iraq war, which ended in 2011. He was speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before heading to Chicago when he was asked whether he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin had been weakened by the Wagner Group’s mutiny that summer.
Mr Biden responded by saying that President Putin was “clearly losing the war in Iraq”.
“God save the Queen”
In 2023, Mr Biden also made another verbal gaffe when he bizarrely closed out a speech on gun control with the proclamation: “God save the Queen, man”. The slip-up raised eyebrows and provoked confusion over whether he had been referring to UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, or King Charles III’s wife Queen Camilla, who had just been crowned a month earlier at a grand coronation ceremony in London.
The White House, however, later sought to explain away the bizarre reference by saying that he was merely “commenting to someone in the crowd”.
Biden’s gaffe with former UK PM Rishi Sunak
When Mr Biden hosted Rishi Sunak as UK Prime Minister at White House 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 then quickly corrected himself and joked, “I just demoted you, Mr Prime Minister”.
Gaffe 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. ” “See this tie I have, this shamrock tie? It was given to me by one of these guys right here, who’s a hell of a rugby player who beat the hell out of the Black and Tans,” he said.
He then corrected himself during the speech and the White House later said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans the president was referring to the New Zealand rugby team.
Napping at COP26
In a viral video, the 81-year-old was caught sleeping on the job at the COP26 climate change conference in Scotland in 2021. In the video, Mr Biden was seen appearing to doze off during the opening remarks of the climate summit, with his eyes shit at one point for more than 20 seconds. An aide was seen popping over and nudging him awake.
Biden falling off a bicycle
In 2022, Mr Biden fell off a bicycle near his Delaware beach home, moments after greeting reporters with a wave and a cheery “Good morning!” Asked what caused the fall, he said that the “toe cages” on his bike got caught.
Shaking hands with thin air
In 2022, a video of US President Joe Biden appearing to turn to shake someone’s hand after a speech left the internet puzzled. There was no one on the stage beside him at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro where he delivered a 40-minute speech.
The 81-year-old finished his speech, then turned right with his hand stretched out in a handshake position. But there was no one on stage who could respond to the US President’s gesture.
