US president Joe Biden mispronounced Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s name while speaking at a White House event to mark the Indian holiday of Diwali.
In his speech, Mr Biden said: “Just today we’ve got news that ‘Rashid Sanook’ is now the prime minister.”
He described the news as ”pretty astounding” and a “groundbreaking milestone.”
U.S. President Joe Biden called the expected naming of Rishi Sunak as Britain's next prime minister and first person of color to hold the job 'a groundbreaking milestone' https://t.co/Hthv5RvKcb pic.twitter.com/rNfy8n1KGT
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 25, 2022
Mr Biden’s pronunciation of Mr Sunak’s name at the Diwali event caught the attention of viewers, who were quick to make jokes on Twitter, resulting in Rashid Sanook trending.
Political commentator Rupert Myers said: “Congratulations Rashid Sanook, Prime Minister of Good Britland.”
Furquan Akhtar shared a photo of John Travolta when he called actress Idina Menzel “Adele Dazeem.”
Writer Philip Clark said: “Rashid Sanook will be next week’s Prime Minister, to be fair.”
Mr Sunak is the first British Asian prime minister of the UK, and one of the youngest ever, at 42 years old. His parents are of Indian descent and migrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s.
The US president later congratulated the new prime minister on Twitter and said: “Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
“Together, I look forward to enhancing our cooperation on issues critical to global security and prosperity, including continuing our strong support for Ukraine.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would call Sunak in coming days, as reported by Reuters.
Mr Sunak officially became prime minister on October 25 after meeting with King Charles III.
His appointment comes less than a week after former prime minister Liz Truss resigned after just seven weeks at No 10.
Mr Sunak was the sole contender in the Tory party leadership race after Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt withdrew.
In his first speech, the Conservative leader said the UK is facing a “profound economic crisis” and braced the nation for “difficult decisions to come.”
