Yo, Caucasian

Is Trump greeting Jews or trying to say Yosemite?

President flubs pronunciation of US national park, drawing a wave of Jewish mockery on social media

By ToI Staff 4 August 2020, 8:20 pm

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Illustrative: Donald Trump points at World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder after meeting at Mar-a_Lago, on December 28, 2016, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Evan Vucci)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday drew widespread mockery online after pronouncing Yosemite as “Yo Semites.”

“When they gaze upon Yosemite’s, Yoseminite’s [sic] towering sequoias,” the US president said during a White House speech, twice mispronouncing the California national park’s name.

The error prompted a flurry of Jewish jokes on Twitter.

Sharing New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman’s tweet on the flub, The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted: “Also the way Maggie and I greet each other.” Both are Jewish.

Here’s the clip pic.twitter.com/b4NtCuEa2z

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— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) August 4, 2020

“We had a teacher that did that once at Hebrew school. Didn’t last long,” tweeted Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Also how Jared calls together a peace conference,” chimed in JTA’s Ron Kampeas, referring to the US president’s son-in-law and Mideast peace negotiator.

US Senator Brian Schatz, who is Jewish, just tweeted back “Yo.”