When Joe Biden wasn't calling Kamala Harris "Vice President Trump" or thinking somebody was the commander-in-chief, he was patting himself on the back for a job well done at the NATO summit. However, he didn't do as good a job as he claims, and while the mainstream media won't report on it, it turns out he undermined the entire conference.
"I wanted to ask you about your — you mixed up Presidents Zelenskyy and Putin earlier today," began Danny Kemp of AFP. "And you now have, sort of, your key allies, including the British Prime Minister, the President of France, and the German Chancellor having to step in and make excuses for you on that. Officials here are saying off the record that your decline has become noticeable. Hasn't this now, frankly, become damaging for America's standing in the world?"
"Did you see any damage to our standing in my leading this conference?" Biden replied. "Have you seen a more successful conference? What do you think? And the move — the Putin piece — I was talking about Putin, and I said, and now, at the very end, I said, here — I mean, Putin, I said, no, I'm sorry, Zelenskyy. And then I added five other names."
As if that response wasn't clunky enough, he kept on going.
"Look, guys, the idea — anybody suggests that — that we haven't had an incredibly successful conference — how many times did you hear, in that conference — I know it sounds too self-serving, but other leaders, heads of state, in thanking me, saying the reason we're together is because of Biden, because Biden did the following," he said. "Look, folks, this is a — well, anyway, I thought it was the most successful conference I've attended in a long time. And find me a world leader who didn't think it was."
Challenge accepted.
According to a report from the Telegraph, European officials say Biden's gaffes have reportedly "ruined months of hard work and undermined the Nato summit," according to diplomatic sources who spoke to the Telegraph.
On stage, prominent leaders like Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz tried to defend the president after he mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin." Biden compounded the blunder by calling Vice President Kamala Harris "Vice President Trump."
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Despite the public support from fellow leaders, the atmosphere behind the scenes was markedly different. Aides and officials at the summit were more candid in their assessments, with one official describing the experience as "awful," particularly while standing in the crowd as the events unfolded.
The consensus amongst diplomats and officials who spoke to The Telegraph, and were granted anonymity to speak more freely, was that it took less than a minute to change the narrative of an entire summit.
The sources realised they would be forced to read about the gaffe on tomorrow’s front pages instead of stories of their successes.
The summit was supposed to showcase a strong and united front against Russia and China. Instead, Biden's gaffes dominated the headlines, forcing Europeans to babysit him, simultaneously making NATO look weak and ridiculous.
"There was also a sense of frustration that this moment would dominate questions put to other leaders in their final press conference before heading home," the report continued.
Sir Keir Starmer was asked no fewer than three times if he thought President Biden was up to the task of running for a second term in the White House.
The Prime Minister said the US leader should be “given credit” for his work at the Nato summit, in defence of his ally.
He would’ve preferred to have been able to boast of his own achievements at the gathering instead of being the receiving end of diplomatically tricky questions.
Is this what Biden calls the most successful summit he's ever attended? He's basically a joke.
