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On Thursday, US President Joe Biden made headlines after fumbling while addressing the press. In a viral video of Biden's speech about Russia, the 46th US President struggled to say the word 'Kleptocracy' in multiple attempts.
While speaking about the US Government's plans to seize assets of Russian origin, Biden spoke about Vladimir Putin's "ill-begotten gains." Biden also demanded the US Congress for a further $33 billion aid package to Ukraine in his speech.
Following the incident, many politicians from rival sides took to social media to bring attention to the mix-up.
Kleptocracy: Context of US President Joe Biden's mention of the word explored
The word kleptocracy refers to rulers or authoritative figures of countries who take advantage of the regular citizens to line the authoritarian figures' pockets. As per Merriam-Webster, it also refers to "government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed."
While the word may have different accepted pronunciations as per accents, it is generally pronounced as "klep-tohc-racy.' In his speech, President Joe Biden could have referenced Vladimir Putin's reported net worth, which many reputable sources had pegged at over $200 billion.
Previously, financier Bill Browder estimated the net worth of the Russian president in the former's testimony to the US Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. Biden could have also referred to the allegations of massive corruption under Putin's regime.
What did President Joe Biden mean to say in his speech about requesting additional funding from Congress for Ukraine?
In the viral video of his speech, Biden also fumbled up "accountable" with "accommodate." During his speech, the US President said:
"In addition to this supplemental funding. I'm also sending to Congress a comprehensive package of — that will enhance our underlying effort to accommodate the Russian oligarchs and make sure we take their… take their ill-begotten gains."
However, the official excerpt of the speech from the White House had the word 'accommodate' stricken out. Instead, the quote mentioned "hold accountable" beside the stricken word.
Later, President Joe Biden fumbled multiple times over the word' kleptocracy.' While referring to controversial Russian president Vladimir Putin. Biden made repeated attempts to pronounce the now-famed word. In the video, the 79-year-old Biden could be seen saying:
"...ill-begotten gains of Putin's kleptoc- — yeah — kleptocracy and keep- — the guys who are the kleptocracies."
Following his struggles, the Pennsylvania native also indulged in a self-aware chuckle after struggling to say the word.
Reactions to President Biden's struggle with pronouncing a word
As per the recent norms of the US President getting ridiculed for fumbling anything in speeches, the incident on Thursday was no different. It spawned several reactions from netizens, who questioned his competency as president of the country.
Previously, in February, a group of 38 Republicans wrote to Biden, urging him to undergo a cognitive test. Similarly, a footage from one of Biden's presidential town hall events in July 2021 showed him struggling while speaking about the epidemic.
