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President Joe Biden's Taylor Swift gaffe during the White House's annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon went viral on social media Monday.
During his speech at the annual holiday festivity, Biden appeared to confuse Britney Spears with Taylor Swift, who is currently on tour in Brazil, while discussing how far the two turkeys, Liberty and Bell, traveled to be pardoned. The mix-up comes as Biden continues facing questions about his age ahead of the 2024 presidential election, as critics have raised concerns about the gaffes he has made as president. His latest gaffe also fell on his 81st birthday.
"You could say it's even harder than getting a ticket to the Renaissance tour or for Britney's tour. She's down in...it's kind of warm in Brazil right now," he said.
Spears has not gone on tour since 2018. "Renaissance" refers to Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour, which concluded on October 1.
One of Swift's fans died at the concert venue on Friday amid a heat wave in Brazil as temperatures in the stadium reached 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Biden continues to face questions about his age, including from many Democrats, despite remaining the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination for president next year. He has also faced questions about his ability to connect with young voters, who have broken from him on key issues such as the Israel-Hamas war ahead of the 2024 election.
Biden's critics commented on the gaffe on social media.
"Joe Biden makes a joke about how hard it is to get tickets to Beyonce's Renaissance Tour except he says that her name is Brittany. He then says she is currently performing in Brazil, which is where Taylor Swift just did shows on her Eras Tour. Beyonce's tour ended in October," wrote conservative commentator Greg Price on X, formerly Twitter.
"President Joe Biden just confused Taylor Swift with Britney Spears at the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon," wrote Amber Duke, editor for the conservative British publication The Spectator.
"Joe Biden tried to make a reference to Taylor Swift and failed spectacularly," posted conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong.
Biden has made other gaffes in recent months that sparked concerns from both Republicans and Democrats. In October, he said he first visited Israel prior to the Six-Day War. His first visit to Israel was in 1973, just before the Yom Kippur War.
In September, he also mixed up the name of rapper LL Cool J, calling him "LL J Cool J" during a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual Legislative Conference.
Update 11/20/23, 1:19 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more