The US president has confused Gaza with Ukraine twice while delivering prepared remarks
US President Joe Biden and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni deliver prepared remarks during a meeting in the Oval Office on March 01, 2024 © Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The oldest president in American history, Joe Biden, made his latest mental gaffe while announcing Washington’s plans to carry out a first military airdrop of vital supplies into the Palestinian enclave.
The US leader announced a new humanitarian initiative on Friday – a day after Gaza health authorities accused Israeli forces of killing more than 100 people who tried to reach a relief convoy – but apparently misspoke and repeatedly referred to Gaza as Ukraine.
“In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into Ukraine and seek to continue to open up other avenues into Ukraine, including the possibility of a marine corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance,” Biden said.
Later in his prepared remarks, Biden noted that “aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now,” and White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also clarified that Biden “was referring to Gaza” when he said Ukraine.
he really means it to him as a young man…Biden announced that the United States is "providing airdrops of food and other supplies into Ukraine." The White House immediately corrected Biden's announcement: "He meant Gaza." pic.twitter.com/7WULVtOyCu
— Peacemaker (@peacemaket71) March 1, 2024
The 81-year-old Biden’s latest mental stumble comes just days after he underwent his annual physical exam, with doctors saying he is healthy enough and fully “fit for duty,” even though the medical examination did not include any cognitive tests.
Critics have long blasted the US administration for an alleged lack of transparency on Biden’s health, claiming that the president is not mentally fit to hold office – especially after a recent prosecutor’s report suggested that he was too elderly and befuddled to stand trial.
Earlier this week, Biden referred to Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as the “head of Russia” and seemingly failed to remember the name of his former boss, Barack Obama. On Monday evening, Biden also took his campaign message to a TV audience, but mistakenly dated his 2024 agenda to four years ago.
“The president doesn’t need a cognitive test,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted on Wednesday.
