U.S. President Joe Biden, who has been controversial for his frequent verbal mistakes, made the mistake of confusing the Korean president’s name while visiting a Korean company in the United States.
President Biden visited the CS Wind factory in Pueblo, Colorado on the 29th (local time). CS Wind is a Korean company that ranks first in global wind power tower market share. During his speech that day, President Biden singled out CS Wind Chairman Kim Sung-kwon and said, “We took a lot of pictures together recently, so his reputation will probably be hurt when he goes home.” He made a kind of ‘self-deprecating joke’, conscious of the low approval rating for his performance in state affairs.
President Biden continued, “But I am friends with your leader, Mr. Moon.” He appears to have been referring to former President Moon Jae-in, not President Yoon Seok-yeol, in emphasizing that since he is close to the South Korean president, a photo taken together would not be a problem for Chairman Kim.
President Biden also confused Chinese President Xi Jinping with Deng Xiaoping, China’s former top leader. At the end of his speech, he emphasized America’s competitiveness and said, “I told Deng Xiaoping in the Himalayas, ‘Betting against Americans is never a good thing.'”
However, Deng Xiaoping died in 1997, long before President Biden took office. In addition, President Biden has warned President Xi of ‘betting’ since he was Vice President, and he has said that he knows him well thanks to spending a lot of time with him, including visiting the Himalayas.
In his speech on the 20th, President Biden also made the mistake of confusing famous American pop singer Taylor Swift with Britney Spears, a popular singer from 20 years ago.
President Biden, who was born in 1942 and celebrated his 81st birthday on the 20th, is the oldest sitting U.S. president in history. He will run for re-election in the presidential election next November, and if successful, he will remain in office until he is 86.
Kim So-young,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.