- President Joe Biden baffled people after ending a speech by saying, "God save the Queen."
- Biden was speaking on gun violence reform at the National Safer Communities Summit in Connecticut.
President Joe Biden left many perplexed after ending a speech in Connecticut on the importance of gun control with the unexpected sign-off, "God save the Queen."
Biden gave a speech on Friday at the National Safer Communities Summit in West Hartford, Connecticut, discussing the necessity of increased gun safety legislation.
The president ended the speech by noting that he could not shake hands with people in the audience due to an incoming storm.
"All right? God Save the Queen, man," he said.
—Sky News (@SkyNews) June 16, 2023
"God Save the Queen," a famous turn of phrase in Britain, refers to the country's national anthem. It is now alternatively "God Save the King," after the country's long-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth died last year and was replaced by her son, King Charles III.
Todd Gillman, the White House bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News, covered the speech and said that he and other pool reporters were unclear on what the president meant.
"Several of you have asked me why he might have said that. I have no idea. Other poolers likewise have no idea," Gillman wrote in a dispatch on Friday.
The phrase soon began trending on Twitter, with social media users questioning and criticizing what appeared to be a gaffe from the 80-year-old president.
The White House press office later said Biden was "commenting to someone in the crowd," per BBC News.
During his speech, Biden pushed for more robust gun control measures in the US — where deadly gun violence is rampant and unabated — expressing anger that shootings happen "every damn day" in the country.
The president, a self-proclaimed "gaffe machine," has been known to make some statements that leave people scratching their heads. Biden recently defended his presidential reelection bid, saying he has "acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom," Insider previously reported.
Biden would be 82 at the start of a second presidential term in 2025.