President Biden says Putin ‘losing the war in Iraq’, in second verbal slip in 24 hours

Biden made a second mistake within 24 hours, correcting himself during a campaign fundraising event by mistakenly referring to China instead of India, whose prime minister, Narendra Modi, visited the White House recently.

«You probably saw my new best friend – the prime minister of a little country that’s now the largest in the world, China – I mean, excuse me, India. India is not looking for a permanent alliance, but they’re looking for some hedge against – in the region,» he said.

The miscues are not unusual for the 80-year-old president.

Back in November, Biden also mixed up Iraq and Ukraine during a speech in Florida while defending his policies from accusations they have fueled inflation.

“Inflation is a worldwide problem right now because of a war in Iraq and the impact on oil, and what Russia is doing,» the president said.

Biden explained at the time he thought of Iraq because “that’s where my son died,» misstating the place where his son Beau passed away. Beau Biden served as a military lawyer in Iraq. He returned to the US in 2009 and died of brain cancer in 2015. The president has said he believes his son’s cancer was the result of possible exposure to burn pits while in Iraq.

Biden also noticed his error and corrected himself, saying “because he died.»

Public opinion polling shows that a majority of Americans have concerns about Biden’s age. Some 73% of respondents to an April 21-24 Reuters/Ipsos poll said that they considered Biden too old to work in government. A majority – 63% – of Democrats agreed with that statement.

Biden’s doctor declared him healthy and «fit for duty» in February after a physical examination.