Joe Biden hits back at reporter who said he was on a 'noticeable decline' after ‘President Putin’ gaffe

Joe Biden hit back at a reporter who said that he was on a "noticeable decline" after a major name switch blunder earlier in the day.

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On July 11, the President of the United States shocked audiences when he mistakenly referred to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky as President Putin in one of the most awkward interactions during this presidential race.

The moment occurred while Biden was at an event celebrating the Ukraine Compact at this week's Nato Summit in Washington D.C.

Speaking into a microphone, the president said: "And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine who has as much courage as he does determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin."

Biden corrected his mistake by stating “We’re going to beat President Putin. I’m so focused on beating Putin," and Zelensky actually took the accidental name switch pretty well, even cracking a joke stating: "I'm better."

"You’re a hell of a lot better," Biden responded.

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The name-swap immediately went viral online with many pointing out that Biden might not be the best person to be running an entire country if we can't even get simple things like names correct.

However, when a British reporter recently called him out on it during a press conference, the President was not happy judging by his response.

"You now have your key allies including the British Prime Minister, the President of France, and the German Chancellor having to make excuses for you on that," said the reporter, to which Biden furrowed his eyebrows, clearly in annoyance at the set-up for the ultimate question.

He continued: "Officials here are saying - off the record - that your decline has become noticeable. Hasn't this frankly now become damaging for America's standing in the world?"

Ouch.

Anyway, the president hit back with: "Did you see any damage in my leading of this conference?"

Up until that moment, he seemed to be doing well because the very next second, he managed to confuse Zelensky and Putin's names once again.

"I mean Putin- I mean- No I'm sorry, Zelensky," he corrected himself.

He then took a long pause before adding: "Look, guys, the idea that anyone suggests that we haven't had a successful conference..."

He went on to state that other world leaders have commended him on "keeping [the allies] together."

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Elsewhere, while wrapping up a summit of the 32-member bloc in Washington, Biden also added: "I’ve not had any of my European allies come up and say, ‘Joe, don’t run’. What I’ve heard them say is, 'You’ve got to win.'

"If I slow down and can’t get the job done that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing this," he noted. "But there’s no indication of that. None."

Connecticut congressman Jim Himes, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called on Biden to step down from the campaign.

"We must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism. I no longer believe that is Joe Biden," he wrote on X.

Appearing later on CNN, Himes added: “Imagine that three months from now, we get another performance like there was in the debate, right before the election. Do you want to take that risk? I don’t."

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Two more congressional Democrats also called on Biden to step aside, bringing the total to 17, as per the Guardian.

Representative Scott Peters of California said: “The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course,” while Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois said that Biden should "put country over party."

I mean, if that's all the convincing the American people have, it's going to be a difficult battle ahead of the Presidential Elections.

Featured Image Credit: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty