Whose mistake will attract the more flak?
By John Welford
@indexer (4852)
Leicester, England
August 6, 2019 3:22am CST
As everyone knows, there were two appalling shooting incidents in the United States on Sunday, in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
Yesterday, President Trump announced that he was praying for those affected by the disaster in Toledo, which is about 100 miles from Dayton.
Joe Biden, a candidate for the Democrat Presidential nomination, went one better in getting both place names wrong when he talked about the outrages in Houston and Michigan.
It will be interesting to see which of the two gets it in the neck from the media for their slip-ups. Presumably it will depend on which side of the political divide the media outlets hail from.
But isn`t it appalling that leading politicians, of whatever political hue, can get something like this so completely wrong? How on earth can somebody be thought worthy of high office when they can`t get even the basic facts right about an issue that it is at the top of everyone`s attention across the whole country?
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2 responses
@xFiacre (14787)
• Ireland
6 Aug 19
@indexer Even I know where these things took place! Can I stand in the presidential elections? A government minister on a visit to the Special Needs School my daughter goes to once asked my wife, “How long has your little girl had Downs Syndrome?” The minister received a discreet elbow in the ribs from an alert aide that jolted her back to reality. Fortunately my wife isn’t an inveterate offence-taker who runs off to the papers at the slightest excuse, but we did enjoy the expression of anguish that crossed the minister’s face as she tried to recover from her gaffe.
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@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
6 Aug 19
I can understand your angst - and your wife`s. Did the minister really think that one caught DS like flu?
On the other hand, people of all backgrounds make silly mistakes all the time, but they don't get the public attention that those of celebrities get.
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
6 Aug 19
@xFiacre I used to think that the word was "jambon" but that means "ham". Agreed, that is not quite as bad as your little error!
However, your example makes my point. All the world noticed when JFK announced that nobody could have more pride than when declaring themselves to be a jam doughnut!
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@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
6 Aug 19
It seems to happen with such appalling regularity these days that one wonders where - or whether - these people actually attended school. Trump is by no means the first to be guilty of such a display of ignorance but he does seem to
Some of the British media has also made a meal of Trump's reaction to a cry of "Shoot them!" from one of his supporters at a rally where he asked what to do about immigrants.
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