Biden mixes up Harris, Trump names at outset of high-stakes news conference

By Reuters 12 July 2024, 3:07 am 11 Edit

President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference following the NATO Summit in Washington, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden mixes up the name of his vice president, Kamala Harris, and his Republican rival Donald Trump on Thursday at a news conference where the 81-year-old aims to quell concerns that he is too old to run for re-election.

“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,” Biden says as he responds to a question from Reuters about his confidence in Harris.

That came a few hours after Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”