Washington: US President Joe Biden made a serious gaffe when he called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as “the president of Mexico” during a press conference in the White House, The Hill reported.
He made the remarks during a press conference after a Special Counsel report said that Biden was a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden was found in the report by Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Hur to have “wilfully retained and disclosed classified materials” related to military and foreign policy in Afghanistan after serving as vice-president until 2017.
In response to question about the humanitarian aid into Gaza through Egypt, Biden mistakenly called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the “President of Mexico.”
Biden said, “I think as you know initially, the president of Mexico, El-Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate.”
The report references showcased apparent lapses in memory from the US President. One reporter asked Biden, “How bad is your memory and can you continue as president?” In response, the US President said, “My memory is so bad I let you speak.”
Another reporter asked Biden if he believed his memory had worsened. Biden responded, “My memory is fine. Take a look at what I’ve done since I became president. None of you thought could I pass any of the things I got passed. How did that happen? I guess I just forgot what was going on,” as reported by CNN.
Biden hit back against special counsel Robert Hur’s description of why he was not charged. Hur described the US President as potentially being seen by a jury as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden said, “I am well-meaning. And I’m an elderly man. And I know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve been President – I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation,” according to CNN report. In his remarks, Biden said he is pleased that special counsel Robert Hur “reached a firm conclusion that no charges should be brought against me in this case.”
The US President said, “The special counsel acknowledged I cooperated completely. I did not throw up any roadblocks. I sought no delays.” He said that he cooperated with the investigation and sat for a five hour interview over two days in October, “even though Israel had just been attacked by Hamas.”
It is not the first time Biden has confused two leaders. Earlier on Sunday, Biden appeared to mix up French President Emmanuel Macron with France’s Former President Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996, The Hill reported.
The apparent mix-up took place during a campaign event in Las Vegas on Sunday. During the event, Biden recalled a Group of Seven (G7) meeting he attended after being elected in 2020.
Biden said one of the first things he said during the meeting was “America is back.” He added that he received a prompt a response from “Mitterrand from Germany,” before correcting it to “from France.”
Biden said, “And Mitterand from Germany — I mean, from France — looked at me and said … ‘You know, what — why, how long you back for?” Biden said, according to The Hill report.
“And I looked at him, and … the chancellor of Germany said, ‘What would you say, Mr. President, if you picked up the paper tomorrow in the London Times, and London Times said, “A thousand people break through the House of Commons, break down the doors, two Bobbies are killed in order to stop the election of the prime minister.” What would you say?'”
As per The Hill report, the White House later mentioned the remarks, with the name Mitterand crossed out and replaced with Macron.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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