US President Donald Trump’s passionate address at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington when he pleaded to never let his fellow citizens down was outshined by his apparent misspeak.
"Since the founding of our nation, many of our greatest strides – from gaining our independence to abolition of civil rights to extending the vote for women – have been led by people of faith", Trump said as he praised the role that faith has played in American society.
Twitter users, including LGBT rights activists, suspected that this was a Freudian slip and that the US president had given himself away.
In an ironic misspeak, Trump gives people of faith credit for our country's greatest strides, like "the abolition of civil rights." pic.twitter.com/wf8x4qgDr3
— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) 7 февраля 2019 г.
When you accidentally tell the truth! We know that the anti-choice crowd that Trump’s pandering to is committed to rolling back our rights, especially for women of color who would be hurt *the most* by their extremist agenda. https://t.co/OF0rCW8tro
— ilyse hogue (@ilyseh) 7 февраля 2019 г.
Trump at National Prayer Breakfast: People of faith have lead in the “abolition of civil rights…”
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) 8 февраля 2019 г.
Where did y’all hide this fool’s teleprompter?
pic.twitter.com/uPhQc2or2O
Trump says that some of America's greatest accomplishments, including the "abolition of civil rights," have been led by people of faith.
— Harry Wilson (@HarryWilson54) 8 февраля 2019 г.
DOES HE MEAN pic.twitter.com/BsUvki519D
Oh. Dear. God. Did Trump actually say that one of the greatest accomplishments was the "abolition of civil rights" while at a national prayer breakfast? 😮🙄😒 pic.twitter.com/FVDlDFZiv7
— Nikki Hamilton 💜 (@bellenikita) 8 февраля 2019 г.
This was not a slip. Abolition of civil rights is exactly their hypocritical mission. #TrumpIsADisgrace
— D.Chapman🗽 (@trinityriver299) 8 февраля 2019 г.
Even an online dictionary used the opportunity to mock the president.
Abolition. The act of doing away with, putting an end to. https://t.co/pV3YscRdH3 https://t.co/8TH8AEzrzo
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) 7 февраля 2019 г.
Some tried to guess what he actually wanted to pay tribute to.
The script seems to have called on Trump to reference "abolition of slavery AND civil rights"… but as you watch him, he seems to struggle with reading it https://t.co/Knqq5KgQoY
— David Frum (@davidfrum) 7 февраля 2019 г.
Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast, a tradition going back to 1953 and President Dwight Eisenhower, for the third time. In his previous addresses, audiences have also been left puzzled when the president veered off script.
READ MORE: Sarah Sanders Sends Waves on Twitter after Saying God Wanted Trump as President
In 2017, he asked participants at the breakfast to pray for better ratings for Arnold Schwarzenegger, who took over the show “The Apprentice” after Donald Trump, mocking his ratings, which “went right down the tubes”. The show was eventually cancelled.
