Washington DC, United States
US President Joe Biden has done it again. The 81-year-old fumbled in his latest speech, and in a 'senior moment', once again echoed a false claim he has been repeating for around five years.
Speaking during a White House event marking Greek Independence Day, Biden repeated the debunked claim about travelling 17,000 miles with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping.
Not only that, the leader appeared to have forgotten his own name and referred to the 'O'Biden administration.
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17,000 miles
Speaking during the event, Biden retold an anecdote about a conversation he had with President Xi, where the Chinese premier asked him to define America.
"I was once asked by Xi Jinping, and I travelled 17,000 miles with him — I was out at the Tibetan plateau. He looked at me, and he said, 'can you define America?' I could say the same thing if he asked me to define Greece."
"I said, 'yes…one word' and I mean this sincerely, it's recorded, I said, 'possibilities'."
This claim has earned Biden a 'bottomless Pinocchio' rating from the Washington Post due to its repeated use.
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The origins of this 17,000-mile figure are dubious at best. As per the Daily Mail, the White House has not clarified its origin, which though based on Biden's actual travel with Xi seems exaggerated.
'O'Biden administration
The speech also included another embarrassing moment when Biden mistakenly referred to the 'O'Biden administration instead of Obama, leading to laughter from the crowd.
These latest gaffes add to a series of embarrassing incidents for the US president, including a recent denial of a scathing DOJ report questioning his "diminished faculties and a faulty memory".
Watch the gaffes here:
@CityBureaucrat On the Tibetan plateau no less.
Biden, 81, repeats lie he's traveled 17,000 miles with Chinese leader Xi Jinping...before calling himself 'O'Biden' while discussing Obama administration pic.twitter.com/wdwwroiCVh
— DosXXMachina (@DuosEquis) April 5, 2024
Criticising Biden's handling of classified documents, the DOJ investigation raised concerns about the octogenarian's fitness for office, citing instances where he became muddled about dates and couldn't remember key details.
Recent polls have also found that a significant part of the US population believes Biden is too old for another term in the White House. Despite this, in his State of the Union address, Biden emphasised the enduring idea of America and his commitment to equality, using his age as a testament to his experience.
"I've been told I'm too old," said Biden, adding, "Whether young or old, I've always known … what endures. I've known our North Star: The very idea of America is that we're all created equal."
(With inputs from agencies)