President Joe Biden at a rally in Las Vegas over the weekend conflated an interaction with France’s current president with the late French President François Mitterrand, who passed away nearly three decades ago.
In his address, President Biden reminisced about the 2021 G7 summit held in Cornwall, England. Amid his narrative, he incorrectly attributed an encounter to “Mitterand from Germany,” before correcting himself to “France.” Mitterrand was, in fact, the French head of state from 1981 until 1995 and died a year later in 1996.
During the Las Vegas rally, the 81-year-old president recounted to his audience: “Right after I was elected, I attended what is known as a G7 meeting, gathering all the NATO leaders.” He recollected telling his counterparts that “America is back,” to which he attributed a skeptical response from Mitterrand, erroneously mentioning him as being from Germany rather than France.
In his account, Biden described a hypothetical posited to him by “the chancellor of Germany”, referring to Angela Merkel who was in office from 2005 until 2021. The imaginary scenario compared a potential breach at the House of Commons with the January 6th, 2021, Capitol riot, probing Biden’s stance on such a situation.
President Biden’s gaffe was the latest in a series of public speaking missteps that have raised eyebrows throughout his political career. The mix-up, particularly confusing a living foreign leader with one deceased for decades, adds to the list of his verbal lapses.
President Biden’s reference to historical figures in present contexts serves as an ongoing challenge that has both humorous and concerning implications, highlighting the sensitivity involved in diplomatic discourse and the importance of precise communication in international relations.

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