Joe Biden Mistakenly Refers To Angela Merkel As Helmut Kohl
President’s Mix-up
U.S. President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to a conversation he had with Angela Merkel in 2021 as having taken place with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, on Wednesday night, his second such mix-up this week.
Biden’s Error
At a New York reception that raised money for his reelection bid, the 81-year-old Biden changed a story that is a staple of his stump speech to include Kohl instead of Merkel, who was in power at the time of the reported conversation, at the G7 summit in 2021.
Concerns Raised
The reference occurred when Biden was talking about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for this year’s Republican presidential nomination.
White House Response
Asked about the issue, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that “as it relates to the names and what he was trying to say, many people, elected officials, many people, you know, they can misspeak sometimes.”
Previous Mix-up
Earlier this week, while talking about the 2021 G7 summit, Biden mixed up French President Emmanuel Macron with the late Francois Mitterrand, who was in power from 1981 to 1995 and died in 1996.
Political Misidentifications
Trump, 77, has misidentified people as well, recently confusing Republican opponent Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who was speaker of the House of Representatives when he was in power.
