President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing the war in Iraq, even as Ukraine battles to defend its eastern border from Russian aggression.

Speaking outside the White House on Wednesday, reporters asked Biden if the mercenary insurrection last week, reportedly against the Russian defense department, weakened Putin domestically.

“It’s hard to tell,” Biden responded.

“He is clearly losing the war in Iraq,” Biden said. “He’s losing the war at home and has become a bit of a pariah around the world.”

Biden was on his way to Chicago to deliver an address on what his White House is calling “Bidenomics,” amid a struggling economy when he made the gaffe.

Reporters also captured Biden carrying a notecard during the gaggle.

The card headline was “Daily News Summary 06/28/23.”

Its first bullet point was “Vagner-Russia” with a talking point: “This was an internal Russian matter. Too soon to know.”

According to a Bloomberg reporter, Biden also said “Iraq” during a conversation on Tuesday about the Ukraine war.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

Joe Biden on Vladimir Putin: ‘He Is Clearly Losing the War in Iraq’

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