President Joe Biden had a horrible slip of the tongue Tuesday, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “Vladimir” in a mix-up with the first name of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
“Ukraine continues to make progress… but we’re not waiting. Vladimir and I… I shouldn’t be so familiar. Mr. Zelensky and I…” Biden said, continuing without correcting himself.
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The Ukrainian president was on hand for international discussions on whether to accept his nation into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a consortium of countries that pledge to defend one another if attacked. Ukraine, which remains at war with Russia, was denied entry on Tuesday amid fears that other countries including the United States would be required to engage in open warfare with Russia if Ukraine were admitted. NATO allies have promised to continue deliberating if and when to bring Ukraine into the fold.
Zelensky slammed the “ambiguous” decision by NATO on Twitter, calling it “unprecedented and absurd.” The salvo caused U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) to suggest Zelensky is ungrateful for the hundreds of billions of dollars in cash and assets provided by the U.S.
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth,” said Sen. Paul on Fox News. “We’ve given him $100 billion and he has the audacity to be so brazen as to tell us we’d better speed it up? … That’s not very grateful for the $100 billion we’ve given him so far.”
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During NATO proceedings, Zelensky appeared to direct the 80-year-old Biden on where to go. The president obliged as he did recently with Britain’s King Charles who led Biden away from a stare-down with Royal Guards as he appeared lost in thought.
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In another awkward moment, President Biden appears to get in the way as world leaders extend their arms past him to shake the hand of Ukrainian President Zelensky.
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On Tuesday the State Department stood by its decision to withhold support for Ukraine’s entry into NATO, which won plaudits from Republicans like Sen. Paul and others who are concerned that the nation’s war, which has extended into its second year, could drain the resources of the U.S. over more pressing domestic needs.