President Joe Biden’s latest fumble has some seriously awkward timing.
On June 16, many captured an awkward moment on video where Biden ended his keynote speech for the National Safer Communities Summit at the University of Hartford by saying, “God save the Queen.” And, erm, people were quick to point out that Queen Elizabeth II has been deceased for nearly a year now.
For his speech, he talked to gun safety advocates and survivors of gun violence at the Lincoln Theater, and before he departed, he said: “Alright? God save the queen, man.”
Obviously, Twitter has questions. One Twitter user named @CTabatabaie shared the video in question with the caption reading, “The Biden ‘God Save the Queen’ thing seems more like Biden just being a weirdo rather than lost or confused (He’s said ‘God Save the Queen” after speeches in the past).'”
Now, other users on Twitter have come to defend Biden. One user named @RyanShead said, “Funny, Biden doesn’t sound like Sleepy Joe when the video isn’t cut down to :11 seconds. He said God Bless everyone, God Bless our troops…then he said ‘God save the Queen, man.’ Turns out he said it to Speaker Paul Ryan in Congress years ago, too. Go ahead, google it. Just another Obama tan suit gotcha moment from republicans. 🙄 #BidenHarris2024.”
Now, if you want to get technical, there is a Queen of England right now: Queen Camilla. However, let’s talk about the term “God save the Queen.” Per Grunge, the term was originally “God save the King,” but it was changed to Queen back in 1837 when Queen Victoria succeeded William IV.
Here’s the thing: since Elizabeth has the longest-reigning monarch, many associate that phrase with her specifically, which makes this moment a bit awkward.
It’s especially awkward for viewers since the phrase came out of nowhere, and he said it the day before the Trooping the Colour ceremony, which is a military parade that honored Elizabeth’s birthday. This is the first parade since her death, and since her son King Charles III has taken the throne.
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