Anthony Pearce's Blog
10 Politicians Who Made Embarrassing Pop Culture Gaffes
- 1/10
David Cameron forgets who he supports: Zac Goldsmith isn’t the only politician confused about the football. In 2015, despite having long supported Aston Villa, David Cameron, during a speech about Britain’s diverse allegiances, said: “[It’s a country] where you can support Man United, the Windies and Team GB at the same time. Of course, I’d rather you supported West Ham.” Same kit colour at least. (Credit: Back Page Images/REX/Shutterstock)
- 2/10
Ted Cruz gets basketball wrong: Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz didn’t do his faltering campaign any good when he mistakenly referred to as basketball hoop as a “basketball ring” in 2016. The GOP nominee was making reference to the movie Hoosiers when he made the gaffe, and was subject to a roasting from Twitter and fellow politicians. (Credit: Lora Olive/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock)
- 3/10
When Keith Vaz did Gangnam Style: For some reason the Labour MP recreated the Psy tune with students at Gateway College as part of Leicester’s City of Culture bid. He challenged other MPs to do their own version, but as far as we know none took him up on his offer. (Credit: YouTube/GateWay College)
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- 4/10
Gordon Brown’s Arctic Monkey’s fail: Gordon Brown professed his love for the Arctic Monkeys in an interview but his cool credentials were questioned after he was unable to name a single song by them. “Well, I mean, I have got them. But they are very loud,” said the then Prime Minister. (Credit: WikiCommons)
- 5/10
Reagan battles with the Boss: Every campaign needs a soundtrack, but picking a suitable song is difficult. One of the most infamous examples is that of Ronald Reagan using Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 anthem ‘Born in The USA’. The Republication chose the song believing it to be a celebration of all-things American. In fact, the song, by the Democrat-voting artist, is about a war veteran who feels neglected in US society. (Credit: WikiCommons)
- 6/10
Boris scores an own goal: Another politician, another football gaffe. Boris Johnson, the outgoing London mayor, claimed England’s 1966 World Cup-winning hat-trick was scored by captain Bobby Moore when quizzed. Of course, it was Geoff Hurst – causing Johnson to complain: “I was only two [at the time]!“ (Credit: YouTube)
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- 7/10
Congressman embraces the meme: When Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie decided, as no politician should, to embrace internet memes in 2013, he was widely mocked. The Republican decided to make a point about the budget with a Doge picture, a meme that consists of a picture of a Shiba Inu and some bold text. Writing “Much bipartisanship. Very Spending. Wow” he took the pop culture fail to a new, modern level. (Twitter/Tom Massie)
- 8/10
Miliband makes an embarrassing typo: Although simply the result of an unfortunate typo, this is classic Ed Miliband. Reacting to the death of Blockbusters presenter Bob Holness, the then-Labour leader tweeted: "A generation will remember him fondly from Blackbusters.” Of course, it was quickly deleted, but the damage was done. (Credit: WikiCommons).
- 9/10
Grayling references The Wire: In 2009, Chris Grayling, the then-shadow home secretary, made reference to HBO’s The Wire, the critically acclaimed Baltimore-set drugs drama. Rather than just showing off his knowledge of McNulty, Stringer Bell and co, he decided to compare it to areas of the UK (which, obviously, have a far lower murder rates than the Maryland city). It didn’t go down well. (Credit: Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock)
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- 10/10
Osborne causes ‘posh burger’ row: When George Osborne posted a picture of him working on the budget while enjoying a burger, he may have thought that he would get props for embracing London’s burgeoning burger scene by opting for a Byron burger. Instead, he was criticised for not eating from McDonald’s instead – and #poshburger started trending. Bit harsh if you ask us. (Credit: Twitter/George Osborne)
Anthony Pearce's Blog
The Conservative mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith has been widely mocked after comparing himself to odds-defying Leicester City, who clinched the Premier League title this week.
The billionaire journalist said he was hoping to overturn Labour candidate Sadiq Khan’s nine-point lead in the polls “by doing a Leicester City.”
“I’m gonna zoom in from behind and win,” he told LBC.
Of course, many Twitter users pointed out that The Foxes have been top of the table since January – and that his campaign perhaps more strongly resembles Arsenal’s season.
But Zac isn’t the first politician to have made an embarrassing pop culture gaffe, as these 10 examples show…