Joe Biden appeared to have difficulty pronouncing the phrase “Ukrainian people” during his joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.
The 46th POTUS, speaking after the Ukrainian president made a surprise in-person visit to Washington DC to plead for more guns and cash, produced some “word salad” that many heard as “Uranium people".
As the perceived slip-up started to trend on Twitter, many wryly commented that the 80-year-old Democrat, who, incidentally, has not ruled out running for a second term in 2024, was in no condition to lead the country.
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Others on Twitter took the opportunity to troll the American commander-in-chief, wondering whether he was “lost in space”, and was referring to the planet Uranus.
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Some comments on Twitter recalled that this was not the first "lapsus linguae" of this kind that the octogenarian US president has made.
The president fumbled his words during his first State of the Union address in March 2022, seemingly confusing "Iranian" for "Ukrainian".
"Putin may circle Kiev with tanks, but he'll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people... He'll never extinguish their love of freedom, and he will never weaken the resolve of the free world," Joe Biden said.
The remarks came as the POTUS spent about 11 minutes of his speech dedicated to US foreign policy, specifically the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.
US vice-president Kamala Harris could be seen responding to the gaffe with a slightly confused expression, in a video cutaway during the event.
The blunder was instantly pounced on by netizens, with some unforgiving comments questioning whether the president "could tell the difference between Iran and Ukraine".
Just days ago, Biden, who is the oldest president in the history of the US, was blasted by Twitter users for his latest gaffes, made during a veterans' town hall address in New Castle, Delaware.
“I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid,” the 46th president said before arguing, “I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter so, you know, I got a little Italian in me now.”
These words went viral on social media with users suggesting that Biden was repeating an anti-Irish statement, with some tweeting that the Democrat's remarks on Irish people were nothing less than a "hate crime". Others pointed out that Dominic Giacoppa is in fact the first lady's grandfather and not her father.