Simple careless error, gap in geography or memory problem?
American President Joe Biden, who is criticized by the Republican opposition - and part of his own camp - for repeated blunders, has once again distinguished himself in this area.
When discussing the situation in the Middle East during a speech filmed Thursday evening, the 81-year-old democrat considered that “the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip is excessive.
I think that... You know, originally the president of Mexico, Sissi, didn't want to open the passage to let in humanitarian aid.
I spoke to him, I convinced him to open the border post,” he assured.
In this statement, the American head of state, in the race for the Democratic nomination in the hope of re-election next November, confuses Mexico with Egypt, by evoking the name of the Egyptian president, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
It is this country which shares a common border with the Gaza Strip and which ended up opening the Rafah crossing in order to bring in humanitarian aid, as Joe Biden recalls.
" I know what I'm doing "
A small error which could have gone unnoticed if the American president had not, during this same speech, assured that he had no “memory problems”.
On Thursday, a special prosecutor charged with investigating his handling of confidential documents released a 388-page report not recommending charges against the Democratic president, but exposing his main vulnerability, his age, and finding that "his memory had worsened." .
Joe Biden “couldn't remember when he was vice president” or exactly the year his eldest son Beau died, special prosecutor Robert Hur said.
Read alsoAmerican primaries: Joe Biden, an octogenarian in the campaign
“I mean well, I’m an old man and I know what I’m doing, dammit.
I don’t have memory problems,” the octogenarian defended himself during the televised address this Thursday evening, in which he confused Mexico and Egypt.
It must be said that American political news is, at the moment, partly focused on Mexico, particularly on questions of the border and drug trafficking.
At the start of the week, Joe Biden stood out by confusing Emmanuel Macron with François Mitterrand, whom he had first associated with Germany, during a meeting during which he wanted to evoke a memory that was took place during a G7 summit in June 2021.
“Just after my election, I went to a G7 meeting,” said the American president.
“I said
America is back
and Mitterrand, from Germany, I mean, from France, looked at me and said:
How long are you back?
»
VIDEO.
Joe Biden confuses Macron with Mitterrand….
and France with Germany
Joe Biden's age is a major concern among voters, according to polls.
Opinion surveys reveal that this is less the case for Donald Trump, aged 77 and also a presidential candidate in November.
But the former Republican president also has his moments of confusion.
In January, in a speech, he confused his rival for the Republican nomination Nikki Haley with the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.