President Joe Biden may have had his campaign's new ad in mind when he confused Russian President Vladimir Putin with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.
The Biden campaign unveiled a new ad that labeled former President Donald Trump as Putin's "lap dog."
The one-minute ad, entitled "Lap Dog," accuses Trump of always "siding" with Putin.
"This is who Donald Trump is, a lapdog for a dictator who blames America first," the ad says. "The United States must never be like Putin's Russia; we don't empower dictators, we don't undermine freedom."
The ad was released during the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., to mark the 75th anniversary of the alliance.
At the summit Thursday, Biden, 81, mistakenly referred to Zelenskyy as "President Putin" as more members of the Democratic Party called on Biden to drop his bid for reelection.
The new Biden campaign ad reminds voters that Trump said in February that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he "would encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to countries that are "delinquent" as he ramped up his attacks on foreign aid and longstanding international alliances.
At the time, Biden said Trump's comments calling into question the U.S. commitment to defend its NATO allies from attack were "dangerous" and "un-American."
The Biden campaign also released an ad in February blasting former Trump for his embrace of Putin and his "traitorous comments" attacking the NATO alliance, NBC News reported.
The spot, titled "Walk Away," highlighted Trump's comments that he would "encourage" Putin and Russia to "do whatever the hell they want."
The NATO alliance requires that if one member nation is attacked, other members will aid in its defense. The only time the clause was invoked was after the 9/11 attacks.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.