President Joe Biden caused some confusion at the end of the speech he gave Friday at the National Safer Communities Summit in Connecticut.
Biden spoke to gun safety advocates and survivors of gun violence for about 30 minutes Friday afternoon at the University of Hartford and ended his speech with the phrase “Alright? God save the Queen, man.”
“God Save The Queen” began trending on Twitter soon after with many addressing their own confusion and criticizing the gaffe.
Many were questioning whether Biden referenced Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, who died in September. Biden attended the queen’s funeral on Sept. 19.
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Todd Gillman, the White House correspondent for The Dallas Morning News, covered Biden’s speech and said that he and other pool reporters in the room did not understand the intent of the remark.
“Several of you have asked me why he might have said that,” Gillman wrote Friday. “I have no idea. Other pooler likewise have no idea.”
During his speech, the president expressed disgust that there is gun violence “every damn day in America” as he pushed several gun control measures including universal background checks and banning AR-15s.
Biden said he will never yield on the issue of gun violence.
“A lot of you are tired. You’re tired. No, I get it. Try being 110 and doing it again,” Biden said. “Whether your Democrat or Republic we all want families to be safe. We all want to drop them off at a house of worship, a mall, a movie, a school door without worrying that’s the last time we’re ever see them.”
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Toward the end of the speech, Biden said he usually sticks around to shake ends but had to leave early due to an impending storm.
“That’s the truth, now don’t make a lie,” Biden said. “As that scene in the John Wayne movie, don’t make me a dog-faced lying pony soldier.’
