In an embarrassing blunder, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain appeared to confuse José Zapatero, the president of Spain, with leaders who “want to do harm to the United States” during a radio interview earlier this week. McCain, asked if he would be willing to meet with Zapatero, said he would only be willing to work with “leaders in the hemisphere who are friends with us…standing up to those who are not …[based on] the importance of our relationship with Latin America.” When the interviewer attempted to clarify that Zapatero was in fact, the president of Spain and not a leader of a Latin American country, McCain refused to admit his error, saying only that he would have to “look at the relations, situations, and priorities” before scheduling a sit-down with the foreign leader. In a statement released later, the McCain campaign defended the candidate’s bizarre answers, denying he was confused and asserting instead that the statements made reflect the senator’s foreign policy stance.

–Marissa Colón-Margolies

Check out more great Nation videos on our YouTube channel.