US President Joe Biden was on fine form as he once again turned what could have been a solemn occasion into an act of stand-up comedy while addressing the US Naval Academy Class of 2022.
His speech, lasting about 45 minutes, contained the typical barrage of accusations against Russia and, specifically, President Vladimir Putin over the continuing special military operation in Ukraine.
At one point during the commencement address Biden said that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (more commonly known as North Korea) had sided with the US against Russia after the Ukraine crisis had worsened.
“Did anybody think, when I called for sanctions against Russia, in addition to NATO, did Australia, Japan, North Korea, some of the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries would stand up and support those sanctions?” Biden asked his astonished audience of more than 1,200 midshipmen.
Fact check: North Korea was actually one of the countries to vote against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia's “invasion” of Ukraine, along with Russia, Belarus, Eritrea and Syria. 35 abstained from the vote at the special emergency session of the General Assembly in March.
Moreover, a North Korea spokesman blamed the US for the actions that Russia was forced to resort to in Ukraine.
“The root cause of the Ukraine crisis lies entirely in the hegemonic policy of the US and the West, which reveal themselves in high-handedness and abuse of power against other countries,” North Korea's official KCNA news agency said, citing an unnamed foreign ministry spokesman.
Elsewhere in his address, Biden tried to say that Putin's actions were “an attempt to - to use my phrase - Finlandise all of Europe, make it all neutral. Instead, he NATO-ised all of Europe", as he endeavoured to refer to Finland’s policy, during the Cold War era, of military non-alignment.
But, ever eager to give his listeners a good laugh and remind them of his Irish roots - of which he is so proud - the 46th POTUS mangled the word “Finlandise”, pronouncing it instead as “Fingalise”.
The US President also referred to the applications for NATO membership submitted on 18 May by Finland and Sweden to secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. Whether the two countries will be admitted to the alliance depends on unanimous approval by NATO member countries.
And to round it all off, Joe Biden resorted to his now “signature” move of whispering into the microphone while emphasising his point, telling the graduates: “I'm your commander in chief”.
From verbal blunders, such as repeatedly referring to his vice-president Kamala Harris as “president”, to making weird gestures, such as shaking hands with thin air and appearing to be, on occasion, “lost”, the 79-year-old president has led many observers to question his cognitive abilities.
The “creepy” stage whisper used by Biden, as on previous occasions, set off a Twitter thread among users.