Brutal Gaffe: Biden calls Zelensky ‘Putin’ – then Kamala Harris ‘Trump’; Obama, Nancy Pelosi expressed private concerns

Barack Obama has for the first time expressed private concerns about Joe Biden’s chances of beating Donald Trump as the US President muddled President Zelensky with President Putin and then called Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’. The US President’s worst ever gaffes came at a NATO summit in Washington, where his staff and world leaders audibly gasped and Zelensky cancelled his planned press conference, leaving Biden’s re-election hopes further hanging by a thread.

And his closest allies, Mr Obama and Democrat grandee Nancy Pelosi, are said to have talked through the crisis and concluded that Mr Biden’s chances of beating Trump is getting much harder every day – especially after his disastrous debate and near-daily blunders raising questions over whether he is senile. Mr Obama is said to be reluctant to go public with his concerns in case it helps Trump’s campaign. Mr Obama and Ms Pelosi are still considering what action to take, CNN reports, as a Detroit Democrat congresswoman went public and said he must stand aside ‘for the good of democracy’.

Mr Biden’s attempts to show he is not senile have backfired spectacularly on the world stage after he insulted President Zelensky and muddled Harris with Trump. Mr Biden gave his most important speech in months – but it quickly fell to pieces as he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by the name of his sworn enemy and Ukraine’s tormentor. The 81-year-old Leader of the Free World, who is facing mounting calls to drop out of the presidential race, said: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin’. It sparked intakes of breath from world leaders and Biden’s team of aides in the room shouted the correct name.

A clearly panicked Biden then corrected himself and said: ‘No, we’re going to beat Putin’. He then blamed the blunder on being ‘so focused’ on defeating the Russian leader who invaded Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Mr Zelensky then cancelled a planned press conference. And later it got worse for Biden when a reporter asked whether Kamala Harris could beat Donald Trump – and he answered in excruciating fashion. Muddling up names again he said: ‘Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was not qualified to be vice president’.

It came after more senior Democrats said he should drop out. CNN also claimed Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have talked about getting him to step aside ahead of the November election. George Clooney has said the president must drop out of the 2024 presidential race – and President Obama has been urged to step in to get Biden to go. The New York Times is reporting that Biden’s long-serving aides are devising ways to persuade him to step down as the election campaign increasingly focusses on his cognitive ability. At least two close allies are believed to have become convinced he cannot defeat Donald Trump in November due to problems during the last head-to-head debate where he got muddled, froze and jumbled his words.

And increasing numbers of senior Democrats have refused to endorse him – or publicly urged him to let someone else stand. West Michigan congresswoman Hillary Scholten yesterday called on President Joe Biden to step aside ‘for the good of our democracy’. ‘We just have too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines and be silent while we still have time to do something,’ she told The Detroit News. Last night’s gaffes triggered a Republican meme avalanche, with mashups of Harris and Trump appearing rapidly online. It also piles yet more pressure on Biden to go. Sir Keir Starmer defended Joe Biden’s leadership of the Nato summit. The Prime Minister, who earlier insisted Mr Biden was not senile and was on ‘good form’, faced questions about the president’s mental ability just moments after the US leader’s gaffes.

The 81-year-old president has insisted he doesn’t need a cognitive test because he is in ‘good shape’ at a press conference where he meandered through statements, mumbled and coughed in the face of mountain of calls for him to step aside. He predicted that he won’t get ditched as the candidate, but in a surprising statement he opened the door to being replaced by saying delegates at the Democratic National Convention could vote for whoever they want. One of his worst gaffes yet came in front of global allies and shortly before his pivota press conference that could be the final nail in the coffin for his hopes of remaining as the Democratic candidate. The latest bungled comments will add fuel to the fire for critics who say he isn’t capable of being in office for another four years, yet alone winning in November. It also came as a sitting Democrat indicated that he should resign from office in a stunning statement. Biden had announced a new $225 million aid package for Ukraine, including a Patriot missile system to bolster its air defenses against the Russian airstrikes when he made his gaffe. Behind the scenes at NATO summit, world leaders have been concerned about Biden’s cognitive decline.

One senior diplomat reportedly said that politicians from around the globe fear he could fall and are ‘worried if he knows which direction he is going’. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said that NATO leaders have privately told him they are ‘deeply concerned’ about the president’s physical and mental health. The latest gaffe from Biden could not have come at a worse time as the White House desperately tries to prove he is fit to serve. ‘And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin ,’ Biden said. He turned away from the podium and then heard the shouts from those calling ‘Zelensky’ at him. ‘President Putin? We’re gonna beat President Putin. President Zelensky! I’m so focused on beating Putin. We got to worry about it — anyway, Mr. President,’ he said. ‘I’m better,’ Zelensky said. ‘You are a helluva lot better,’ Biden replied as he desperately tried to recover.

There were also reports that members of Biden’s inner circle are also plotting ways to get him to drop out, fearing a devastating defeat to Trump in November. White House aides have also been accused of carrying out a plot over three-and-a-half years to hide Biden’s definicincies from the press and the world. Staff closest to the ailing 81-year-old deployed a multitude of tactics to hide his deficiencies – limiting reporter access to him, giving the president smaller stairs for Air Force One and physically surrounding him in public to hide his stiff walk, a former Biden aide tells DailyMail.com. Biden has also been given large-print notecards with the most basic of instructions written on them for almost every event and kept to a tighter daily schedule so he can get more sleep.

There was even staff charged with devising strategies to keep the president from falling down, the source said. Now, the insider says, those advisers who coordinated the president’s protective cocoon should be held to blame for his spectacular fall from grace and the mounting calls for him to drop his reelection bid. The ex-senior staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ‘guardrails’ placed around Biden meant his meandering and mumbling debate performance was amplified to the more than 50 million viewers.

And because his deficits had been shielded from the public by those inner circle aides many Americans were shocked to suddenly see his dramatic decline exposed live on national TV. Biden’s falls and gaffes since he took office in 2001 had been highlighted largely by conservative-leaning media outlets but all-but- ignored by more liberal news organizations. That is, until his primetime car-crash two weeks ago on CNN.