Biden's 'Rasheed Sanuk' gaffe triggers meme fest, joins President's long list of blunders

The President of the United States, Joe Biden has recently come under fire after he wrongly pronounced the name of the new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, at a Diwali reception that he organised at the White House on October 24. During the Diwali reception, President Biden took the opportunity to convey his wishes and congratulate newly-appointed UK PM Rishi Sunak on his "groundbreaking achievement" of becoming the first Indian-origin premier of the nation.  

After Sunak's ascension to 10 Downing Street, the US President said at the White House, "Rashid Sanook" is "now the prime minister" of the United Kingdom. Biden mispronounced Rishi Sunak’s name with “Rashid Sanook".  

Following applause from the audience, the President continued by saying, “As my brother would say, go figure. Of the Conservative Party. Expected to become the prime minister I think tomorrow when he goes to see the king. Pretty astounding. A groundbreaking milestone and it matters." 

Furthermore, as the video was shared on social media, people started responding to Biden’s video and memes were generated out of it. 

People reacting to Joe Biden's mispronounciation

After the post was shared on the social media platform, it garnered several comments with netizens expressing their astonishment. One of the users wrote, “Big up Rashid Sonook”, while another said, “Comedy gold”. Meanwhile, a third reacted, “Just another jobama fumble stumble.” 

Take a look at some of the comments: 

Notably, after visiting King Charles III in Buckingham Palace on Tuesday morning (October 25), Sunak took over Liz Truss' position as British prime minister. On Monday, October 24, Rishi Sunak was chosen to lead the British Conservative Party. After Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the campaign, the leader assumed control as the country's next Prime Minister and head of the Conservative party. 

Biden has been criticised on social media

Meanwhile, this is not the first time US President Biden has been criticised on social media. In the month of August, Biden made headlines when he uncomfortably remained on the podium and appeared to be waiting for a handshake from Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer that he had previously received at a public event. In a video, Biden was seen to be standing beside Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House, Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, and SparkCharge's Joshua Aviv.  

At the signing ceremony for the CHIPS and Science Act 2022, before leaving the platform, Senator Schumer shook hands with Biden, followed by Aviv and Pelosi. However, Biden failed to recognise his handshake after he had already gotten one, he just stood there embarrassed and perplexed. Biden rubbed his chin and appeared to have forgotten the initial handshake. He then remained still and perplexed for some time. 

(Image: AP)