Biden repeats long-debunked claim about travel with Xi Jinping, gives himself a new name in latest gaffe

In another blunder, US President Joe Biden once again repeated his false claim about travelling 17,000 miles with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During his speech at the White House event marking Greek Independence Day on Thursday, the 81-year-old president repeated the debunked claim and also seemed to have forgotten his own name and made reference to the 'O' Biden administration instead of Obama.

Biden recounted an anecdotal about an exchange he had with Xi, during which the Chinese premier asked him to describe the United States.

“I was once asked by Xi Jinping, and I travelled 17,000 miles with him — I was out at the Tibetan plateau. He looked at me, and he said, 'can you define America?' I could say the same thing if he asked me to define Greece,” the POTUS said.

“I said, 'yes…one word' and I mean this sincerely, it's recorded, I said, ‘possibilities’,” he added.

Biden has earned a 'bottomless Pinocchio' rating from the Washington Post over the persistent use of this long-debunked claim.

Earlier, the outlet pointed out that Biden had repeated the claim nearly 21 times as an example of the effort he has made to build rapport with Xi Jinping amid escalating tensions between China and the US.

In another awkward moment during his address, Biden mispronounced Obama's name as the "O" Biden administration, which made the audience giggle.

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Biden rejects special counsel Robert Hur's report

Biden's latest blunder follows a string of embarrassing ones, which also includes his recent rejection of a DOJ report that cast doubt on his mental fitness.

Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on Biden's mishandling of classified documents was critical about the president's suitability for office. While the files were discovered in Biden's garage, the report did not suggest filing charges.

Also Read: Biden and Xi's two-hour phone call sets the tone for future China-US relations

During his questioning with investigators, Biden seemed confused about the dates he served as vice president and he was even unable to recall the year when his son Beau passed away.

Despite a favorable response to his State of the Union speech, Biden's average popularity rating has fallen to its lowest point of his whole tenure.

Based on national average estimations by poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight, Biden's approval rating is presently at 37.4%, the lowest since December 2023, when he achieved an average of 37.6%.