Joe Biden Remark at Gun-Control Forum Confuses Some Viewers

President Joe Biden on Friday was delivering a speech related to the one-year anniversary of the federal gun-safety bill when he left some viewers confused by his closing remark.

Biden was speaking at the National Safer Communities Summit in West Hartford, Connecticut, addressing gun-safety advocates and shooting victims who came together to honor the significant federal firearms legislation that was signed into law a year ago, according to the Associated Press (AP). At the end of his speech, the president said, "alright, God save the queen, man" before leaving the stage.

The phrase is usually used in Britain to express patriotism and honor the monarch. However, since Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch, died last year, the phrase has been changed to "God save the king," since the current British monarch is King Charles II, whose coronation was held last month.

It remains unknown why Biden used this phrase, but Yoni Applebaum, The Atlantic's deputy editor, suggested a theory.

"Biden has the extremely odd habit of ending his remarks with cryptic phrases whose significance is mostly legible only to him. 'God save the queen' is also what he said right after certifying Trump's election in 2017. He seems to use it to mean something like, 'God help us all," Applebaum tweeted.

Biden on Friday urged for stricter gun-control laws and for voters to defeat lawmakers who resist such legislation, according to the AP. The bipartisan gun-safety legislation that was signed into law one year ago made it harder for people to access guns, strengthened background checks for gun buyers, prevented domestic violence offenders from accessing firearms, and aimed to allow states to enforce red-flag laws, which prohibit those deemed dangerous from owning guns.

The bill came in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos used an AR-15-style rifle to kill 19 children and two teachers last year. The mass shooting renewed calls for stricter gun-control measures amid an increase in gun violence in the U.S.

There have been at least 163 mass shootings in the country this year as of April, according to Gun Violence Archive, an organization that tracks shootings across the country. In 2022, there were 646 in total, and 2021 saw a total of 690. There were 272 mass shootings in 2014, the earliest year the organization began monitoring gun data.

Newsweek has reached out via email to the White House for comment.