Strike 2: Biden mistakes dead leader for living one, again

Strike 2: Biden mistakes dead leader for living one, again

WASHINGTON—US President Joe Biden has confused a European leader with a dead predecessor for the second time in a week, telling a campaign event he met Helmut Kohl four years after the German chancellor passed away.

The 81-year-old’s gaffe late Wednesday came days after he said he had spoken to long-dead French President Francois Mitterrand, instead of current leader Emmanuel Macron, at the same G7 summit in June 2021 where he said he had met Kohl.

Biden, who is seeking reelection in November, often tells the same story about the summit held in the United Kingdom to illustrate what he says were global concerns about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

“Helmut Kohl of Germany looked at me and said, ‘What would you say Mr. President, if you picked up the London Times tomorrow morning and learned that 1,000 people had broken down the doors … of the British Parliament and killed some [people] on the way in [to] deny the prime minister to take office,’” Biden said, according to a pool report.

Angela Merkel, Germany’s first female chancellor, was the leader attending the summit. Kohl died in 2017 and was chancellor for 16 years from 1982 to 1998, becoming known as the architect of German reunification after the Cold War.

Increasing concern

Polls show US voters are increasingly concerned about Biden’s age. He would be 82 at the start of a second term and 86 at the end.

The White House played down the name mix-ups, pointing to the fact that Biden has met many world leaders over a long career as senator, then vice president and finally president.

“Elected officials, many people, they can misspeak sometimes,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing.

“This

… Read more