Macron, Scholz defend Biden after he mistakenly refers to Zelensky as Putin: ‘We all slip up sometimes’

US President Joe Biden is “in charge” and on top of matters at a NATO summit with fellow leaders in Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron says after the president mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin before correcting himself.

“I was able to talk with President Biden at length yesterday at dinner,” Macron tells reporters. “I saw as always a president who is in charge, clear on the issues he knows well.”

“We all slip up sometimes,” the French president says. “It’s happened to me and it could happen again tomorrow. I would ask for your indulgence.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz similarly defends Biden, telling reporters that “Slips of tongue happen, and if you always monitor everyone, you will find enough of them.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a press conference of his own, avoids answering the question as to whether Biden was fit enough to run for the US presidency. He instead praises Biden’s role in organizing and leading what he says was a successful meeting of the NATO alliance.

Most Popular