"Vice President Trump": When Biden makes a second blunder, the reactions of his companions speak volumes

Merkur "Vice President Trump": When Biden makes a second blunder, the reactions of his companions speak volumes Story by Hannes Niemeyer • 1 hour • 3 minutes reading time Embarrassing moments at the NATO summit Putin and Trump of all people: Joe Biden makes two blunders at the NATO summit. His companions have to watch everything from the front row. Washington - It's happened again. Joe Biden makes another unpleasant blunder at the NATO summit. In the middle of the discussion about the US President's suitability for the upcoming US election, the next scenes follow, which cast doubt on the 81-year-old's health. He made two slips of the tongue - and in a very unpleasant way. First, Biden announced the speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj. Instead of Zelenskyj, however, Biden said "President Putin". Biden noticed his mistake, saying that he was so focused on "defeating Putin" that he was thinking too much about him. However, he cannot prevent the media response. At the same time, critics of the president, including in the Democratic Party's own ranks, are likely to feel vindicated. And there are now more and more critics. Even a first Democratic MP and acting superstar George Clooney recently called on Biden to withdraw from the election campaign. "President Putin": Biden slip of the tongue at NATO summit leaves heads of government around Scholz perplexed The direct reactions of Biden's colleagues at the NATO summit to the embarrassing moment were also serious. After all, several heads of state and government were gathered diagonally behind Biden on the stage. Chancellor Olaf Scholz looked perplexed, EU Council President Charles Michel glanced to the side in disbelief. Others clap tensely. If the situation in the difficult election campaign against the favored Donald Trump had not been so serious, the slip of the tongue could probably have been quickly dismissed as a trivial matter. The situation is precarious, however - and it would not be Biden's only blunder on this summit day. Biden held a solo press conference at the summit. It was the first press conference of this kind in a long time, and Biden still has a lot to make up for since the disastrous TV duel against Trump. But that didn't work out. Joe Biden makes a mistake at the NATO summit - Austin and Blinken have to watch from the front row. Putin blunder is followed by a solo press conference: Biden's companions react tensely The opening statement was still successful, Biden also read some things from the teleprompter, the whole thing was largely accident-free. Then came the question round. And right at the first question, the next glitch followed. Biden confused his own Vice President Kamala Harris with his biggest rival. "Look, I wouldn't have chosen Vice President Trump as Vice President if I didn't think she was qualified to be President," he said. Biden's entourage watched the whole thing sitting in the front row. Videos show a closer look at their reactions to the US President's next mistake - and they speak volumes. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, sit next to each other in the front row. You can see the tension in them. Biden's entourage has to watch "Trump" slip of the tongue in the first row - the reactions speak volumes When Joe Biden makes the vice president's slip-up, Blinken flinches almost imperceptibly and lowers his gaze by a few millimeters. After months ago he had watched his boss's agitated statement at a press conference in the first row with a face contorted in pain and convulsive movements, the chief diplomat is struggling particularly hard to keep his composure this time. Two seats to his left, Sullivan raises a hand to his face after Biden's sentence and rubs his chin. Between the two, Austin listens without emotion. What is hardly noticed, meanwhile, is that the following moments of the press conference were not a brilliant performance either, as a report by the dpa shows. Biden was questioned harshly by the journalists. For example, the question was raised as to whether his constant blunders on the big world stage were not slowly damaging the reputation of the USA. Biden's press conference at the NATO summit: Even after the blunders, the mishaps continue He leans forward somewhat awkwardly over the desk several times and whispers sentences into the microphone with his eyes wide open - probably to make them more effective. In between, Biden clenches his fist several times to demonstrate strength - as he has done several times in recent days at the NATO summit, when he was repeatedly asked about his party colleagues' calls for withdrawal and gave his fist in response. But time and again, Biden blunders at the press conference, falters, does not finish sentences, sometimes confuses numbers or countries (North Korea and South Korea).