WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden mistakenly introduced Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky as his Russian foe Vladimir Putin at a NATO summit Thursday in a blunder just hours before a press conference that could decide the fate of his reelection bid.

The 81-year-old quickly corrected himself, and Zelensky quipped that he was “better” than Putin, but the gaffe intensified concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump two weeks ago.

“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said as he announced a NATO-Ukraine compact at the summit in Washington.

Biden turned away from the lectern before coming back and exclaiming: “President Putin! He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelensky — I’m so focused on beating Putin we gotta worry about it. Anyway, Mr President.”

“‘I’m better,” replied Zelensky, a former television comedian turned Ukraine’s wartime leader against Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Biden’s Republican rivals were circulating the clip within minutes.

The verbal slip could not have come at a worse time as Biden is due later to give what the White House has called a “big boy” press conference on Thursday, his first major appearance since the debate.

The solo appearance, a rare unscripted encounter with reporters, comes amid growing calls in his Democratic Party for him to step aside.

The press conference was due to start at 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) but is expected to run around an hour late.

There has been a steady drumbeat of Democrats calling for Biden to abandon his 2024 candidacy.

Hollywood actor and well-connected Democratic supporter George Clooney called on Biden to exit the race, and party grandee Nancy Pelosi has stopped short of fully backing him.

Around 14 Democratic members of the House of Representatives have openly urged the man who beat Trump four years ago to drop out, along with one Democratic senator.

A poll released on Thursday showed more than half of Democrats say Biden should end his bid for a second term, and two-thirds of Americans believe he should quit the race.

– ‘Devastating’ –
But the former president and the incumbent remain in a dead heat on 46 percent, according to the Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey.

Biden’s campaign was however quietly testing the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris in a potential match-up against Trump, The New York Times reported.

Some of the president’s longtime aides are meanwhile discussing how to persuade him that he should step aside, the paper also said, citing anonymous sources.

The White House said the report was “unequivocally” false.

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said on Thursday he was speaking with each of the party’s representatives, adding that they would then “convene as a leadership team and figure out the next step.”

The once-talkative Biden has given fewer news conferences than his predecessors, and recent ones have only been with foreign leaders, restricted to two questions each.

Coupled with a lack of interviews, it has led critics to accuse the White House of shielding the effects of age on America’s oldest president.

Biden has called his debate meltdown a “bad night,” blaming it on a cold and jet lag.

But Clooney tried to torpedo the narrative that it was a one-off, saying it was “devastating” to admit but the signs were also clear at a June 15 fundraiser in Los Angeles he hosted.

Biden has insisted he is committed to running in November, and with the Democratic party primary votes under his belt there is no real way of forcing him out.

His campaign fought back Thursday with a new ad campaign on the last day of the NATO summit portraying Trump as a “lap dog” of Putin.

NATO allies have also been seeking reassurance about Biden’s leadership abilities and over their fears that a return of the isolationist, Putin-praising Trump could spell trouble for the alliance.