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You say Cambodia, Biden says Colombia
"Now that we're back together here in Cambodia, I look forward to building even stronger progress than we've already made, and I want to thank the Prime Minister of Colombia for his leadership as ASEAN chair and for hosting all of us," Biden said while meeting his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh.
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US president Joe Biden (center), Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (left) and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen (right) interact during the ASEAN-US summit as part of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Phnom Penh on November 12, 2022.
(AFP/Tang Chhin Sotty)
U
S President Joe Biden on Saturday referred to Cambodia, which is hosting an international summit led by Southeast Asian leaders, as Colombia.
"Now that we're back together here in Cambodia, I look forward to building even stronger progress than we've already made, and I want to thank the Prime Minister of Colombia for his leadership as ASEAN chair and for hosting all of us," Biden said while meeting his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh.
He was referring to Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, who is currently chairing the 10-member regional bloc.
🇺🇸🇰🇭🇨🇴At the ASEAN meeting,Joe Biden called Cambodia "Colombia" pic.twitter.com/HRkw7sXeKk
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) November 12, 2022
The president, who is on a whirlwind trip with stops at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, ASEAN in Phnom Penh and the G20 summit in Indonesia, made a similar slip-up while speaking to reporters at the White House recently.
The Democratic president, who turns 80 on Nov. 20, this week said he intends to run for re-election in 2024, with a final decision likely early next year.
Biden's occasional verbal stumbles and tendency to meander off script during live appearances have been seized on by his Republican critics as proof he's too old for the job.
Supporters call that ageism and say the president, who overcame a childhood stutter, has been ad-libbing in public speeches for decades.
South America's Colombia seems to be on the US president's mind, because he made the same mistake as he set out from the White House for his long trip to Asia.
He told reporters he was "heading over to Colombia", before quickly correcting himself to say "I mean Cambodia".
Biden has been known as a gaffe machine for much of his storied career in Washington.
His latest glitch, while geographically challenged, was still perhaps less glaring than Vice President Kamala Harris's statement during a September visit to the demilitarised zone separating North and South Korea.
On that occasion Harris said that the US has "an alliance with the Republic of North Korea. And it is an alliance that is strong and enduring."
