Awkward situations, embarrassing moments, mispronounced words, and tumbles. The men who have led the most powerful nation on earth were just that — men. And like the rest of us, they’ve suffered through some embarrassing gaffes. Yet unlike the rest of us, their mistakes were captured on camera to be remembered and laughed at for the rest of history.
Thanks to President Joe Biden, presidential gaffes have become an almost daily occurrence in the White House, but even before the 80-year-old commander-in-chief gave us a reason to roll our eyes, plenty of other U.S. presidents have made us cringe.
Republicans and Democrats are both prone to make us laugh, especially since the advent of television. From puking in a prime minister’s lap to falling down the steps of Air Force One, it would be impossible to include every blunder from modern-day presidents, but here are some of the more embarrassing moments we found, from Gerald Ford to Joe Biden.
Gerald Ford Tumbles And Stumbles
President Gerald Ford was falling down airplane steps before Joe Biden made it cool. On June 1, 1975, Ford arrived in Austria to meet with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. As Ford was walking down the Air Force One steps with his wife Betty, the president slipped and fell down the last few stairs. Then, a few hours later, Ford reportedly nearly fell down a flight of stairs but was saved by Sadat.
Ford wasn’t hurt in either incident and was quick to make light of the embarrassing moments. “Thank you for your gracious welcome to Salzburg, and I am sorry I tumbled in,” he said in remarks to a crowd later that day.
Gerald Ford: The Soviets Are Not Dominating Eastern Europe
Unfortunately for Ford, foreign policy proved to be as big a problem as the steps on Air Force One. Ford raised eyebrows when he claimed during a presidential debate against Democrat nominee Jimmy Carter that “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration.”
This claim would’ve been fine if Ford was running for re-election in 1992, but it was 1976 — the middle of the Cold War. The USSR was still going strong and exercising control of the Eastern Bloc of European countries Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. At best, Ford’s comment was a blunder, but at worst, it revealed the sitting president lacked a basic level of foreign policy knowledge.
Ford went on to lose to Carter in the 1976 election.
Jimmy Carter: A Fictional Character Would Have Been One Of The Best Presidents In History
During the 1980 Democratic convention, President Jimmy riled up his base by listing names of Democrats he was proud to be in the same party as, but he mixed up the name of a former Democratic vice president with the name of a fictional British naval officer.
“We’re the party of a great leader of compassion: Lyndon Baines Johnson,” the president told the room full of Democrats. “And the party of a great man who should have been president, who would have been one of the greatest presidents in history: Hubert Horatio Hornblower!”
Carter quickly realized his gaffe and shouted, “Humphrey,” the name of Johnson’s vice president who died in 1978.
CONVENTION THROWBACK#OTD 8/14/1980 — Jimmy Carter: "We're the party of a great leader of compassion: Lyndon Baines Johnson. And the party of a great man who should have been President, who would have been one of the greatest Presidents in history: Hubert Horatio Hornblower!" pic.twitter.com/xAUGnbnsBT
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) August 14, 2020
Ronald Reagan Needs Help From Nancy
Nancy Reagan was a powerful influence during her husband’s eight years in office and was even rumored to have helped President Ronald Reagan schedule important meetings through astrology. In one Q&A with the press, Reagan was asked how he would bring the Russians to the negotiating table to discuss arms control. Nancy appeared to prompt her husband before he answered.
”Tell them we are doing everything we can,” she was heard whispering.
Nancy denied that she was telling the president what to say, however. Instead, Nancy said she was just talking to herself because she was frustrated by the question.
“It always implies that he is sitting there doing nothing,” she said. ”I always want to say, ‘What do you think he’s doing?’ I know what he’s doing. So this time when it was asked, I was saying to myself, ‘Tell them we are doing everything we can.’”
George H.W. Bush Faints And Vomits On Japanese Prime Minister
A scary moment at a state dinner in Japan turned into one of the most embarrassing gaffes in presidential history when President George H.W. Bush fainted and vomited in the lap of Japan’s Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.
Bush, who was 67 at the time, felt fine earlier in the day, even playing tennis with his host. But at dinner, Bush suffered acute gastroenteritis, causing his fainting spell. The president felt better after taking an anti-nausea drug and resumed his normal schedule.
George H.W. Bush Gets Bored On Live TV
During a 1992 presidential debate against his Democrat opponent Bill Clinton, President George H.W. Bush glanced at his watch as a member of the audience asked him a question. While the moment only lasted for a second and the president went on to answer the question, Bush’s gaffe made him look both uninterested in the debate and dismissive of the audience member’s question. Bush lost to Clinton less than a month later in the 1992 election.
Bill Clinton: The Meaning of The Word ‘Is’
In the midst of his White House sex scandal, President Bill Clinton made a ridiculous attempt to squirm his way out of answering a question about his sexual misconduct with his intern Monica Lewinsky.
The president was asked if a statement from Clinton’s attorney was false. The statement in question read, “Counsel is fully aware that Ms. Lewinsky has filed, has an affidavit which they are in possession of saying that there is absolutely no sex of any kind in any manner, shape or form, with President Clinton.”
Clinton responded, “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the – if he – if ‘is’ means is and never has been that is not – that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement.”
The Democratic president was impeached by the House on charges including perjury and obstruction of justice following the sex scandal, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
George W. Bush Fooled By Popular Saying
Before Michael Scott was butchering famous quotes on “The Office,” there was President George W. Bush. The Republican was often made fun of for his strange sayings, often called “Bushisms,” but on one occasion, Bush completely forgot the common saying, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”
Bush was speaking to an audience in Nashville, Tennessee, when he said, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, ‘Fool me once, shame on … shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.'”
Barack Obama Hot Mic
During a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in March 2012, a hot mic caught President Barack Obama saying the quiet part out loud. As reporters flowed into the room where Obama and Medvedev were speaking, the two leaders believed their conversation was still private, but cameras and microphones picked up on their words.
Obama was overheard asking Medvedev for time and space — “particularly with missile defense” — until after the election when he would be in a better position to handle the issue without the threat of facing electoral consequences, Reuters reported.
“I understand your message about space,” replied Medvedev, who was on his way out of office.
“This is my last election. … After my election, I have more flexibility,” Obama added.
“I will transmit this information to Vladimir,” Medvedev said, referring to Vladimir Putin, who was set to take back over as Russian president.
Barack Obama Thinks There Are 57 States
While not as consequential as being caught on a hot mic discussing future plans with a Russian president, Obama embarrassed himself when he claimed he traveled to 57 states during his campaign.
“It is just wonderful to be back in Oregon, and over the past 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states, I think one left to go,” Obama told a group of supporters as some began to laugh. “Alaska and Hawaii I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it.”
Trump Mispronounces Yosemite And Thailand
President Donald Trump could always entertain a crowd — even when he wasn’t trying to. While touting legislation on preserving national parks, Trump mispronounced the name of one of the most popular natural attractions in the U.S.
“We want every American child to have access to pristine outdoor spaces. When young Americans experience the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon when their eyes widen in amazement as Old Faithful bursts into the sky, when they gaze upon ‘Yo Semite’s’ — ‘Yo Semite’s’ — towering sequoias, their love of country grows stronger, and they know that every American has truly a duty to preserve this wondrous inheritance.”
Then the president mispronounced Thailand, calling it “thigh land.” In a speech in Ohio, Trump blamed the Obama administration for companies “shifting production to ‘thigh land’ and Vietnam.”
Joe Biden Falls Three Times Walking Up Steps
What Gerald Ford began, President Joe Biden perfected. Shortly after taking office, Biden tripped not once, not twice, but three times while walking up the steps of Air Force One. The president finally made it to the top before turning around and saluting the Marines standing on the ground.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre blamed the wind for Biden’s trouble making it up the stairs.
“It’s pretty windy outside. It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself,” she said.
Joe Biden Falls Off Bike
Biden took a bigger tumble in 2022 when he fell off his bike in his home state of Delaware right in front of a crowd gathered to see him. The president came to a stop to greet a group of people when he lost his balance and fell to the pavement.
Joe Biden Tells Paralympic Athletes ‘Don’t Jump’
Biden has a strange habit of telling people on platforms or in high places not to jump when he makes public appearances. In one instance, the president made the joke while appearing with paralympic athletes, some of whom were in wheelchairs.