At least he didn’t say, “Maybe, America.”
President Biden made a televised gaffe on Friday that could have been lifted straight from Will Ferrell’s classic comedy The Host — when he appeared to blurt out “repeat the line” while reading a speech directly from a teleprompter.
Critics took it as the president accidentally reading stage directions aloud while trying to deliver a speech at the White House rallying fellow Democrats to come out and vote after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The apparent error led to a firestorm of mockery online – which was led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted: “Whoever controls the teleprompter is the real president!”
The billionaire also shared a meme of “The Host” character Ron Burgundy, who was known for making gaffes like saying “Go for it, San Diego” when scrolling on the prompter as a joke, and who in one scene read a line , “Am I Ron Burgundy?” as a question because someone accidentally put a question mark on the feed.
After the apparent mistake, the White House went into damage control mode — something that happens increasingly when Biden speaks — denying that it ever happened and claiming that Biden actually said “Let me repeat the line.”
Video of the speech shows Biden clearly having trouble taking in the address, as he breaks off in places and corrects himself as he quotes the conservative SCOTUS majority opinion in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Women are not deprived of voting or political power,” Biden said. “It is worth noting that the percentage of women who register to vote and vote is consistently higher than the percentage of men who do” — end quote.”
“Repeat the line,” he says, then shows the video. “Women are not without electoral and/or political or.”
He pauses, then corrects himself, saying: “Let me be precise – not and/or – ‘or political power’.”
Elon Musk shared a meme of “The Anchor” character Ron Burgundy, who was known for making gaffes, such as saying “Fuck San Diego, after Biden’s latest gaffe.” Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
“That’s another way of saying that you, the women of America, can determine the outcome of this issue,” Biden says.
User Greg Price shared the clip on Twitter, saying: “Joe Biden accidentally read the part of the prompter that says ‘repeat the line’ when they wanted him to say the line again lmfao.”
That prompted White House Assistant Press Secretary Emily Simons to respond, “No. He said, “Let me repeat that line.”
The White House transcript of Biden’s remarks said, “Let me repeat the line,” and some dismissed the claim that it should not have been said.
“A teleprompter wouldn’t say ‘repeat the line,'” the No Lie podcast with Brian Tyler Cohen tweeted. “That’ll just…repeat the line. That’s the whole point of the teleprompter.”
Musk, who previously took jabs at Biden for a teleprompter, also went after the president with another “Host”-themed meme showing a scene with a producer in a control room warning, “For the last time anything you put on that prompter, Burgundy will read .”
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