{"id":39396,"date":"2025-05-03T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=39396"},"modified":"2025-05-04T05:22:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T05:22:47","slug":"what-is-the-biggest-gaffe-blooper-or-blunder-that-a-recent-president-has-made-it-may-depend-on-what-your-definition-of-is-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/what-is-the-biggest-gaffe-blooper-or-blunder-that-a-recent-president-has-made-it-may-depend-on-what-your-definition-of-is-is\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the biggest gaffe, blooper or blunder that a recent president has made? It may depend on what your definition of \u2018is\u2019 is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chris Lamb<\/a>, Indiana University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump was asked during a press conference on April 30, 2025, about the possible impact of his tariff policies and trade war with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump answered that American children should prepare to make sacrifices at Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe the children will have two dolls<\/a> instead of 30 dolls, you know,\u201d he said, \u201cand maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times reported that Trump appeared to be telling kids<\/a> they would have to manage with fewer toys this year for the sake of his economic agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Mayer, a reporter with The New Yorker, called it \u201cTrump\u2019s Marie Antoinette moment<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was not the first \u2212 or last \u2212 time Trump said something that left many Americans with mouths open and heads shaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours after his Marie Antoinette moment, Trump, whose first 100 days back in office have been characterized as chaotic and<\/a> damaging to democracy<\/a>, was asked during a phone interview at a town-hall broadcast on NewsNation what the biggest mistake he\u2019d made thus far in his second presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really believe I\u2019ve made any mistakes<\/a>,\u201d Trump replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audience, representing a cross section of Americans, burst out laughing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s gaffes aren\u2019t just part of his presidency; gaffes are part of the storied tradition of the American presidency. Some of those comments have clung to presidents and even affected history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are examples from each president over the past 50 years or so of statements that at least some of them were embarrassed by or came to regret. Each was made when the president was serving in the White House. The quotes are organized chronologically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Nixon is a law-abiding guy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Nov. 17, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, in the midst of the Watergate scandal that would end his presidency, defended himself against charges of corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople have got to know whether or not their president is a crook,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cWell, I\u2019m not a crook<\/a>. I\u2019ve earned everything I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of quelling the scandal, as Nixon hoped, his words produced the opposite reaction. He resigned from the presidency nine months later in August 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerald Ford forgets the Cold War<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gerald Ford, Nixon\u2019s vice president who became president after Nixon\u2019s resignation<\/a>, subsequently ran for election in 1976.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During one of his televised debates against Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, Ford inexplicably claimed the Soviet Union did not control Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe,\u201d Ford said, \u201cand there never will be under a Ford administration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To which the moderator, New York Times editor May Frankel, said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, what<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford\u2019s remark was so outrageously incorrect that it may have contributed<\/a> to his defeat in the tight presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jimmy Carter gets advice from his teen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Carter defeated Ford and was elected in 1976<\/a>. He ran for reelection against Republican nominee Ronald Reagan in 1980. During one of their debates, Carter said he sought the advice of his 13-year-old daughter, Amy, on what was the most important issue facing America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe said she thought it was nuclear weaponry<\/a>,\u201d Carter said, \u201cand the control of nuclear arms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter tried to show that arms control was a subject that had great resonance to even 13-year-olds. Instead, it left viewers puzzled why he had inserted his daughter into the debate. A wire service story<\/a> at the time summarized the response by saying that reporters covering the debate winced and others groaned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ronald Reagan attacks Russia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reagan, a former television and movie actor who defeated Carter in the 1980 presidential election<\/a>, was known as \u201cthe Great Communicator<\/a>\u201d for his eloquence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-known anti-Communist<\/a>, Reagan was not always careful about what he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before a speech on Aug. 11, 1984, Reagan joked during a sound check<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joke on the open mic, which was not broadcast live but leaked later<\/a>, resulted in a Soviet red alert<\/a> \u2212 and temporarily moved the U.S. and Soviet Union toward war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George H.W. Bush eats word salad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reagan\u2019s successor, his vice president, George H.W. Bush<\/a>, by comparison was no great communicator. His words came out of his mouth and appeared to go in separate ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have opinions of my own, strong opinions,\u201d Bush said<\/a>, \u201cbut I don\u2019t always agree with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Clinton is or isn\u2019t, maybe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Democrat Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush<\/a> in the 1992 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clinton\u2019s presidency was dogged with accusations of unethical behavior and extramarital affairs<\/a>. Clinton, in testimony before a grand jury investigating his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, was asked whether he was lying when he told aides that \u201cthere\u2019s nothing going on\u201d between him and Lewinsky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt depends on what the meaning of the word \u2018is\u2019 is,<\/a>\u201d Clinton responded. \u201cIf the \u2212 if he \u2212 if \u2018is\u2019 means is and never has been, that is not \u2212 that is one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slate magazine said that this response may have been the \u201cdefining moment<\/a>\u201d of his presidency and, in doing so, captured his contribution to semantics. As Time magazine pointed out, \u201cUntil then, America hadn\u2019t been<\/a> sure there was more than one definition of \u2018is.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George W. Bush\u2019s shame<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

George W. Bush, the son of George H.W. Bush, succeeded Clinton in the White House<\/a>. Americans learned that Bush had more in common with his father than just the same last name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an old saying in Tennessee \u2212 I know it\u2019s in Texas,\u201d Bush said, \u201cprobably in Tennessee, that says, fool me once<\/a>, shame on \u2212 shame on you. Fool me \u2212 you can\u2019t get fooled again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barack Obama strikes out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Barack Obama, like Reagan, was known for his sense of humor. And like Reagan, Obama learned that not everything was a joking matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While appearing on \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d with Jay Leno in 2009, Obama said he had improved his bowling by practicing at the White House bowling alley. He told Leno he had bowled a pedestrian score of 129, provoking a sarcastic response from Leno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama then made the following joke: \u201cIt\u2019s like the Special Olympics<\/a> or something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama quickly apologized to the Special Olympics<\/a>, the athletic competition for people with intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Obama made a bad joke about the Special Olympics during an interview with Jay Leno; he quickly apologized for it. Mandel Ngan \/ AFP\/Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Joe Biden\u2019s bad day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump was first elected president in 2016 but was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election<\/a>. Trump and Biden faced each other again in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a television debate on June 27, 2024, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Biden why voters should trust him to solve the immigration crisis. Biden said he changed a law that allowed Trump and his administration to separate immigrant families and put children in cages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden\u2019s train of thought then jumped the tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the \u2212 the total initiative relative to what we\u2019re going to do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t know what he said at the end of that sentence,\u201d Trump said, \u201cand I don\u2019t think he did, either<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same could be said for much of what Biden said during the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden withdrew from the presidential<\/a> race three weeks after his poor debate performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Lamb<\/a>, Professor of Journalism, Indiana University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Lamb, Indiana University President Donald Trump was asked during a press conference on April 30, 2025, about the possible impact of his tariff policies and trade war with China. Trump answered that American children should prepare to make sacrifices at Christmas. \u201cMaybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":39397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[279,7,46,10,36,4,38],"tags":[710,986,479,5515,1461,7543,988,7046,885,891,886,860,989,714],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39396"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39398,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39396\/revisions\/39398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}