Mistranslated
But not born in the USA? Video of Joe Biden causes laughter online
US President Joe Biden in the White House
© Andrew Harnik / AP / DPA
US President Joe Biden was born in Israel – right? Probably not, otherwise the Democrat would hardly be in office. A mistranslated video of a speech by the US President is now amusing the internet.
US President Joe Biden has caused a few laughs several times with missteps – for example when boarding a plane in which the 80-year-old stumbled. Or when he unintentionally insulted a Fox News reporter through a turned on microphone. But because of his advanced age, these faux pas are actually no longer so funny for the president himself. At least not if he plans to remain in office (more on this read here). Now the next smile – which, however, is not necessarily Biden’s fault.
A video clip has been circulating since the end of October in which the US President says that he was born in Israel. The post, which can still be seen in full length on the video platform You Tube, shows Joe Biden giving a speech in Tel Aviv on October 18th. Biden first spoke about the Hamas attack on October 7th and promised Israel his country’s full solidarity. The US President then announced: “The State of Israel was founded to be a safe place for the Jewish people. That is the reason why it was born. I have said for a long time: If Israel did not exist, we would have to invent it. “
However, the transcript, which can be read right next to the video, says: “I was born in Israel.” When translating the speech, the program had turned es (“it”) into me (“I”). It is unclear whether there was a technical error or whether the US President’s pronunciation was unclear. The transcript was also posted on the White House website. The error appears to have been corrected there.
Net jokes about Joe Biden
The mistranslation is now causing amusement and ridicule among users of Platform X (formerly Twitter). “I always knew it: Biden is the messiah,” writes one user. “This means the 2020 election is invalid,” writes another and thus alludes to Donald Trump’s fairy tale about the stolen US election.
“Mr. Sleepe Joe,” mocks a third.
By the way, Joe Biden was born in the small town of Scantron in the US state of Pennsylvania – six years before the state of Israel was founded. The users on X have already commented on this too. One person says it mischievously: “Then he was actually born a Palestinian, right?”
Only: Anyone born abroad can never become President of the United States of America. This is, among other things, one reason why the Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger only made it to the position of governor of California.
Sources: YouTube, German press agency, White HouseTwitter