Hamas Opponents, Macron as Mitterrand... Biden Makes Another Verbal Slip

President Biden Shows Signs of Unease
Previously Confused 'Macron' with 'Mitterrand'

U.S. President Joe Biden was once again visibly embarrassed when he failed to immediately recall Hamas, the Palestinian armed faction currently at war with Israel. On the 6th (local time), the British Telegraph reported, "After pressuring Congress to pass an emergency security budget that includes support for Israel and Ukraine, President Biden spoke about the situation in the Middle East," revealing this incident.

U.S. President Joe Biden. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

President Biden emphasized the connection between passing the budget and resolving the Middle East issue, calling it a "matter of American strength." He then said, "There is some movement," but struggled to find the right words and appeared uneasy for a moment. Soon after, he said, "There was a response," without specifying who, then corrected himself, saying, "There was a response from the other side. Yes. Sorry. There was a response from Hamas," barely managing to recall Hamas.

At 81 years old this year, Biden is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, and his verbal slips are not new. On the 4th, during a campaign rally in Las Vegas, he confused French President Emmanuel Macron with former President Fran?ois Mitterrand, who passed away 28 years ago, while recalling the G7 summit he attended after winning the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Biden said, "When I declared 'America is back,' Mitterrand of Germany?no, France?looked at me and asked, 'How long will you be back?'" The White House later issued a written correction, replacing 'Mitterrand' with 'Macron.'

Biden’s frequent verbal mistakes during his re-election campaign have sparked debates about his cognitive abilities. Nikki Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and Republican presidential candidate, recently targeted both former President Donald Trump (77) and President Biden with the slogan "grumpy old men." At a campaign event, Haley said, "Do you want to run against two people in their 80s for president?" and raised her voice, saying, "To bear the weight of the presidency, you cannot choose someone whose cognitive abilities are in doubt for performing the duties of the office."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.