Topline
Former President Donald Trump mocked President Joe Biden’s gaffes and stutters during Thursday night’s closely watched press conference on the sidelines of NATO’s Washington Summit, before highlighting his meeting with Hungary's President Viktor Orbán in a likely attempt to boast his own foreign policy chops.
Former president Donald Trump mocked Biden's gaffes at a closely watched press conference on ... [+]
Key Facts
In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump derisively mentioned Biden’s “‘Big Boy’ Press Conference” and shared clips of the president’s gaffes and stumbles.
During the presser, Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump,” something the Trump’s account quickly shared a clip of, mockingly adding “Great job, Joe!”
Trump also highlighted another slip-up in which Biden said he was following the advice of his “commander in chief” on the issue of military assistance to Ukraine, before correcting himself and saying “the chiefs of staff of the military, as well as the secretary of defense and our intelligence people.”
Trump then lashed out at the president, saying he has “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” likely in response to Biden referring to him as a “disaster” for U.S. allies.
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News Peg
Biden spent most of the press conference highlighting his foreign policy credentials, as he gave detailed answers to multiple questions on global matters—including threats posed by Russia and China. The foreign policy aspect of the presser won Biden some applause from pundits on TV. The president was also keen to draw a contrast between himself and his predecessor and rival and told reporters: “I've not had any of my European allies come up to me and say, ‘Joe don't run.’ What I hear them say is ‘You've got to win, you can't let this guy come forward, he'd be a disaster.’” In a likely effort to respond to this and show off his foreign policy credentials, Trump reshared a post by Hungarian President Viktor Orbán after the two met in Mar-A-Lago earlier on Thursday, where the Hungarian leader suggested Trump had a plan for peace in Europe. In response, Trump wrote: “Thank you Viktor. There must be PEACE, and quickly. Too many people have died in a war that should have never started!”
Key Background
Earlier on Thursday, Biden had another major public gaffe when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” during a NATO event. The president quickly corrected himself and Zelensky even replied jokingly that he was better than Putin. The latest gaffes have done little to assuage Democrats’ concerns about the president’s ability to beat Trump in November’s elections. After Thursady’s press conference, Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., Scott Peters, D-Calif., and Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., joined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers calling on Biden to drop out of the race.
Further Reading
Biden Calls Kamala Harris ‘Vice President Trump’ At High-Stakes Press Conference (Forbes)
Biden Calls Ukraine’s Zelensky ‘President Putin’ At NATO Event (Forbes)
