In a key speech aimed to convince Republicans to support a bipartisan bill in February 2024, Joe Biden didn’t seem to be on his A-game. At the time, the president was asking legislators to back an immigration and border deal that would give aid to Israel and Ukraine. But amid a hostile situation in Gaza involving the terrorist group, Hamas, and the hundreds of Israeli hostages that remained in captivity, reporters asked Biden for a status report.
“There’s been a response from the opposition,” Biden explained in a video posted by The Telegraph, before seemingly searching for the word “Hamas.” After a reporter suggested the name of the terrorist group, Biden went on to clarify: “Yes, I’m sorry, from Hamas. But it seems to be a little over the top. We’re not sure where it is. There’s a continuing negotiation right now.”
The mix-up came just days after Biden mistakenly referred to French President Emmanuel Macron with former President François Mitterrand, who died in 1996. “And Mitterrand, from Germany –- I mean, from France –- looked at me and said, said ‘You know, what — why — how long you back for?'” Biden exclaimed during a campaign event in Las Vegas (via LeMonde). Once again, the White House transcript for the event was corrected for clarification to include Macron instead of Mitterrand.
