Biden calls Zelensky 'Vladimir' during NATO remarks in latest gaffe

President Biden on Wednesday referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Vladimir,” apparently confusing him for the Russian leader and US and Ukrainian adversary.

The 80-year-old president’s latest gaffe came during his remarks at the annual NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, one day after Zelensky bristled at Ukraine not being extended an invitation to join the North Atlantic alliance.

“Vladimir and I … I shouldn’t be so familiar,” Biden said during a press conference in the Lithuanian capital, appearing to catch himself seconds after the blunder.

“Mr. Zelensky and I talked about the kind of guarantees we could make in the meantime when I was in Ukraine and when we met in other places.,” he corrected himself as he stood feet from the Ukrainian leader.

The official White House transcript, which is usually scrupulous about picking up Biden’s misstatements, didn’t do so this time, and incorrectly notes that the commander-in-chief said, “Volodymyr.”

“Volodymyr” and “Vladimir” are different variants of the same name. They both mean, “ruler of the world,” or “ruler of peace,” however, “Volodymyr” is the more widely used version of the name in Ukraine.

Biden has previously made numerous misstatements related to the war-torn former Soviet state.

#ukraine #joebiden #volodymyrzelenskyy #nato

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[highdesertutah]

If Biden ever refers to Karine Jean-Pierre as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I’ll die a happy man.

[endefisto]

Who is back here after he called Zelensky Putin?

[rick]

They call him a gaffe machine? Man, he's a whole factory.

[narcissisticcapitalist]

I wouldn’t be surprised if he calls his son Donald every now and then.

[charliecrash]

Poor Joe says, "Vladimir Zelenski is a bold leader who hails from the great country of Iraq!

[zxyatiywariii]

Anyone else get this clip in your feed because he just called President Zelensky "President Putin"? 🤦🏾‍♀️

[garcia]

The shocked look on their faces speaks volumes.

[sparkyify]

Such a disgrace to the Country of ours. He is the laughing stock on the world stage. This is elderly abuse by his family for even letting him run for office. This kind of behavior has to stop

[ivanrivera]

Vladimir and Volodimir are exactly the same name, it's just the Ukrainian variant but Zelensky have called himself Vladimir several times before, actually he didn't learn Ukrainian until his political carrer started, his Ukrainian pronunciation is average at best so its pretty normal for him to use Vladimir instead of Volodimir.

[gvrgs]

The face of Giorgia Meloni is priceless 😂

[Shyyan]

The best part is him trying to fix his mistake

[ebonyperron]

That lady nearly broke her neck, looking that hard. 😂

[glenbard]

"Tell Vlad I'll have more flexibility in my second term." - Barack Obama

[radioactivegaming]

The looks on the faces of those around him whenever he speaks is absolutely painful. The idea that at any moment he could say anything on a global stage is terrifying.

[mance]

Little potato smiling and holding his head high because for once he's not the dumbest person in the room.

[fallenkeith]

Plot Twist : Zelensky is actually Putin in disguise

[jimmyalfonda]

Finished it a year later by calling him Putin.

[thewestisthebest]

I remember a time when, at the bare minimum, you had to be able to give a speech to be President

[josejosejose]

and he wants another term as a President...smh

[ButtChugDoug]

He literally reminds me of a kid in 2nd grade reading out loud to the class 😂 💀