In a recent misstep involving global leaders, US President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the ‘President of South Korea,’ as reported by the New York Post.
During remarks at a campaign reception in Portola Valley, California, Biden, 81, was criticizing his 2024 opponent, former President Donald Trump, over his perceived close relationship with the North Korean dictator when he made the error. “We’ll never forget his love letters for the South Korean President Kim Jong Un or his admiration for Putin — what a great leader Putin is,” Biden said.
This slip-up by Biden comes just over a year after he hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House for a state dinner and summit at Camp David. Interestingly, this is not the first time Biden has made such an error regarding world leaders. According to the New York Post, he stumbled over President Yoon’s name during a trip to South Korea in May 2022, referring to him as “President Moon,” confusing him with Yoon’s predecessor, former President Moon Jae-in.
Moreover, Biden has also made similar mistakes concerning the names of leaders from Mexico, Egypt, France, Germany, and Ukraine. Last July, he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Vladimir” during a NATO summit, seemingly confusing him with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In February, he mixed up Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during a news conference.
Furthermore, Biden’s repeated gaffes extend beyond misidentifying current leaders. On multiple occasions, he mentioned discussing the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot with deceased European leaders. At separate events, he referred to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel as former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who passed away years prior, and French President Emmanuel Macron as French President Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996.
These verbal missteps have raised concerns about Biden’s mental acuity, particularly as he seeks a second term in the White House. If re-elected in November, Biden, the oldest president in American history, would be 86 at the end of his second term.
