White House Corrects it to Macron, Posting on Website
U.S. President Joe Biden has reignited controversy over his age by confusing Emmanuel Macron, the current French President, with a former French President who died over 30 years ago.
According to The Hill, a U.S. congressional news outlet, on the 5th (local time), Biden misspoke at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, the day before. While discussing his attendance at the 2020 G7 Summit, he incorrectly referred to President Macron as the late François Mitterrand, the former French President who died in 1996.
Biden recalled his first words at the meeting: “America is back.” He continued, “Then Mitterrand, who came from France, not Germany, looked at me and asked, ‘How long will you be back?'” The person who attended the meeting with him then was Macron, not Mitterrand.
The White House later corrected Biden’s speech on its website, removing the word “Mitterrand” and replacing it with “Macron.”
Biden is frequently mentioned in the media spotlight due to his frequent verbal gaffes. Mainly, his age of 81 has fueled controversy over potential cognitive difficulties. Recently, Biden has made mistakes such as confusing famous American pop singer Taylor Swift with Britney Spears and referring to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as “Mr. Moon” instead of “Mr. Yoon.”
Biden is the oldest sitting president in U.S. history. If re-elected this November, he will be 87 years old by the end of his term.
His age is considered the biggest obstacle to Biden’s re-election. According to a poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos from the 22nd to the 24th of last month with 1,250 Americans, three-quarters of all respondents believe Biden is too old to perform his duties.
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