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- President Joe Biden had a major mix-up while speaking at a NATO summit on Thursday.
- The 81-year-old president introduced Voldomyr Zelenskyy as Vladimir Putin.
- Biden quickly corrected himself and told Zelenskyy he was "better" than Putin.
President Joe Biden introduced Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin in a cringeworthy moment at a NATO conference on Thursday.
The inaccurate introduction is Biden's most recent flub amid increasing skepticism over the 81-year-old president's fitness for office, including from members of his own party.
"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 Putin."
Putin has waged a yearslong war in Ukraine after invading the neighboring country in February 2022.
Biden quickly caught his mistake after mixing up the two leaders on stage.
"He's gonna beat President Putin, President Zelenskyy," Biden said. "I'm so focused on beating President Putin."
Zelenskyy, for his part, appeared to make light of the situation, responding, "I'm better."
"You are a hell of a lot better," Biden said.
NATO leaders appeared to give halted applause following Biden's mix-up, with some chuckling and smiling following his correction.
The gaffe comes as a growing number of Democrats publicly call on Biden to drop out of the 2024 election following his disastrous debate performance earlier this month.
Vermont Sen. Peter Welch was the first Senate Democrat to urge Biden to end his reelection campaign, writing in a Wednesday op-ed that he no longer believes Biden to be the best candidate to beat former President Donald Trump come November.
Meanwhile, thirteen House Democrats and counting have called on Biden to step down as the party nominee.
Biden's Thursday slip-up unfolded less than an hour before the president will face reporters in an unscripted, live press conference to wrap up the NATO summit in Washington, DC, this week.
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