Joe Biden calls Canada "China" in cringeworthy speech to parliament

US President Joe Biden mistakenly praised China in his speech to Canada's parliament when he meant to praise Canada.

The 80-year-old president made the gaffe shortly after failing to mention China's role in fentanyl smuggling. Biden mixed up Canada and China as he applauded the northern neighbor for agreeing to accept 15,000 more migrants per year from Latin American countries. In exchange, the US would consent to Canadian efforts to deport those caught sneaking illegally into Canada.

The gaffe occurred just moments after Biden did not mention China at all while discussing Fentanyl, which is largely shipped from Chinese labs and has its roots around the globe, and is shipped from overseas. Biden did not specify where the shipments were coming from, mentioning Mexico specifically as a common transfer point en route to the US. “We’re tackling the scourge of synthetic drugs that are devastating Canada and American communities, particularly our young people. Fentanyl is a killer and almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by this — lost a child or lost a friend,” Biden said of the lethal drug.

“Canada and the United States are working closely with our partner in Mexico to attack this problem at every stage, from the precursor chemicals shipped from overseas to the powder to the pills to the traffickers moving into all of our countries,” Biden said.

“And we all know, [the] synthetic opioid epidemic has its roots around the globe, not just here. So today, we’re announcing a commitment to build a new global coalition of like-minded countries led by Canada and the United States to tackle this crisis. This is about public health.”