In a puzzling moment on Friday night, President Joe Biden seemed to confuse Russian President Vladimir Putin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This occurred as he commended the valor of Ukrainians while delivering a speech in South Carolina.

“I spent a lot of time in Ukraine and I’ve met with Putin more than any other world leader has,” Biden stated, raising eyebrows with the unexpected mix-up.

The 83-year-old president’s lapse came shortly after he had criticized former President Donald Trump for neglecting to acknowledge the “anniversary of Putin invading Ukraine” during Trump’s extensive State of the Union address earlier in the week.

While censuring Trump for omitting mention of Russia’s aggression, Biden inadvertently brought up Putin, the instigator of the conflict, in the context of commenting on Ukrainian bravery and resilience.

“Incredible bravery of those people,” Biden continued. “Imagine how they feel, wondering if we’re abandoning them. We’re stepping back. He doesn’t apologize.”

It’s worth noting that President Biden and President Putin held a formal summit on June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. This meeting marked their only direct encounter during Biden’s presidency.

Meanwhile, Biden and Zelensky held numerous in-person meetings throughout his four year presidency where they encountered one another at international summits, during Zelensky’s visits to Washington, D.C., and during Biden’s 2023 trip to Kyiv. 

During Friday’s speech Biden had attempted to open with humor aimed at Trump’s address to Congress.

Joe Biden appeared to mix up Russia’s Vladimir Putin with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday night

Biden praised the ‘bravery of Ukrainians’ before speaking about how he had ‘met Putin more than any other world leader’. Biden is seen with Ukraine’s President Zelensky in Kyiv in 2023

Former President Joe Biden met with Russian President Valdimir Putin in Geneva in June 16, 2021. It was to be their only face-to-face meeting while Biden was in office

‘By the way did you see Trump give the State of Union….is he still talking?’ Biden joked, stumbling over his words yet drawing laughter.

But it was when he shifted from mocking Trump to reflecting on his own foreign policy experience that the mixup occurred. 

‘I don’t know. But folks, it’s unbelievable. The guy talks for almost two hours, but never mentions the anniversary of Putin invading Ukraine. Never once.’

The phrasing sparked instant reaction online, with critics arguing the 83-year-old former president appeared to blur the lines between Russia’s president and Ukraine’s wartime leadership.

Biden did not clarify the remark during the speech. 

The appearance marked one of Biden’s rare public outings since leaving office. 

After Trump’s return to the White House, Biden has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

In May, he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bone, and a spokesperson said in October that he had been receiving radiation and hormone therapy.

Former President Joe Biden is seen greeting the crowd after speaking to the South Carolina Democratic Party on Friday in Columbia

South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn introduced Biden at the event on Friday

The South Carolina event was meant to be sort of political homecoming and a celebratory return to South Carolina, where Biden marked the sixth anniversary of his pivotal 2020 primary victory.

The win revived his faltering presidential campaign and ultimately propelled him to the White House.

‘Thank you,’ Biden told supporters as Rep. Jim Clyburn introduced him at an event hosted by the state Democratic Party in Columbia. ‘It’s good to be back home.’

‘My buddy Jim Clyburn, you brought me back!’ Biden said, recalling the congressman’s crucial endorsement in 2020.

Clyburn praised him in return.

‘There is no American ever who has demonstrated through his service more substance and, I might add, sustenance, than Joe Robinette Biden Jr.,’ he said.