U.S. President Joe Biden made a mistake on Tuesday when he mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing the war in Iraq. However, it is important to note that Putin is actually involved in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, not the Middle Eastern country where the U.S. and its allies intervened in 2003.
Biden refers to Ukraine as ‘Iraq’ when mentioning Putin losing war during a press conference in Washington
During a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, when asked about Putin, Biden stated, “It’s hard to tell but he’s clearly losing the war in Iraq.”
JUST IN – Biden says Putin " is clearly losing the war in Iraq” pic.twitter.com/Y3kIikgtwv
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) June 28, 2023
Biden was questioned about the extent to which Putin’s power has been diminished by the failed uprising in Russia. In his response, he mistakenly substituted Ukraine for the conflict that began with a coalition led by the United States invading Iraq and concluded in 2011.
“He’s losing the war at home and he has become a bit of a pariah around the world,” the president said at the White House.
“It’s not get NATO, it’s not just the European Union, it’s Japan,” he added.
The White House did not provide a response when asked for comments regarding the word swap.
It is well-known that the president occasionally makes verbal mistakes when speaking spontaneously, especially when answering questions from reporters. He has also made similar errors in the past but has corrected himself afterward.
During a campaign event in Maryland on Tuesday night, President Biden, made the same error by referring to Ukraine as Iraq.
“If anybody told you — and my staff wasn’t so sure, either — that we’d be able to bring all of Europe together in the onslaught on Iraq and get NATO to be completely united, I think they would have told you it’s not likely. The one thing Putin counted on was being able to split NATO,” Biden said.
Biden’s unscripted remarks make waves again, confusing countries at Maryland event
During such events, he frequently expresses his thoughts more openly and tends to generate headlines with his impromptu comments. For example, last week he referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a dictator.
In Maryland on Tuesday night, Biden also had a momentary slip-up when he momentarily confused the home country of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently visited the White House.
“You probably saw my new best friend, the prime minister of a little country that’s now the largest in the world, China — I mean, excuse me, India,” he said.
