Donald Trump appeared to have a bit of trouble pronouncing some of the names of America’s founding fathers during his Fourth of July speech at Mount Rushmore, and now clips of the president’s difficulties are gaining viral interest on Twitter.
Trump came under fire for the tone of his speech on Friday, in which he marked the start of Independence Day weekend with remarks that many saw as sharply partisan and taking aim at protesters on the left. But critics have also seized on the president’s difficulties with some common and very well-known names of the country’s early presidents.
In one clip, shared on Twitter by Vox reporter Aaron Rupar, Trump appeared to refer to the author of the Declaration of Independence as “Thomas Jeffers” before correctly pronouncing his name.
Trump short-circuits when he tries to say “Jefferson” pic.twitter.com/BVB5FkLVLT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 4, 2020
He again appeared to struggle with the name of America’s 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant.
For the second time in this speech, Trump shouts out someone named “Ulyssesius S Grant” pic.twitter.com/Ve3zKaKoqA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 4, 2020
Trump even appeared to have difficulty with the word “founding” itself.
Trump botches the word “founding” pic.twitter.com/roSq8NM5jE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 4, 2020
This is not the first time that Trump has been mocked by critics for his difficulty in pronouncing proper names during speeches. He also came under fire for struggles while speaking at the West Point graduation last month, including a clip in which he had a difficult time with the name of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
“McGarther” — Trump also repeatedly had trouble with General Douglas MacArthur’s name pic.twitter.com/HLSwbol2yL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 13, 2020
Weeks before, late night host Jimmy Kimmel mocked Trump for twice mispronouncing “Minneapolis” when referring to protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. As The HuffPost noted, Trump first referred to the Minnesota city as “Minneanapolis.”
“Maybe that was just the hydroxy kicking in,” Kimmel joked, referring to the untested coronavirus drug the president had claimed he was taking. “I’m sure he got it right the next time.”
Kimmel then showed another clip where Trump made the same error when referring to the city that sparked what would become nationwide protests.
Trump’s speech on Friday at Mount Rushmore drew some other unwanted attention for the president. As The Inquisitr reported, singer Neil Young made it known he was not happy that Trump played three of his songs at the event — “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Like A Hurricane,” and “Cowgirl in the Sand.”
Young took to Twitter to make it known that he did not authorize the use of his songs and was not in support of Trump.
“This is NOT ok with me,” he tweeted, later adding, “I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux & this is NOT ok with me,” he said.
