After President TrumpDonald TrumpSouth Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Ex-Trump aide Pierson won't run for Dallas-area House seat House Oversight panel reissues subpoena for Trump's accounting firm MORE mistakenly referred to “Mike Pounce” during a Thursday evening speech, social media users were quick to mock the president, and the name was trending on Twitter.
In an address at the House Republican retreat in Baltimore, Trump was discussing a meeting that he held on ethanol with lawmakers including GOP Sens. Chuck GrassleyChuck GrassleyFBI director faces lawmaker frustration over Capitol breach Padilla has 'big Chuck Taylors to fill' in replacing Harris Judiciary Committee greenlights Garland's AG nomination MORE (Iowa), Joni Ernst
Joni Kay ErnstBill to shorten early voting period, end Election Day early in Iowa heads to governor's desk We know how Republicans will vote — but what do they believe? The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by TikTok - Senate trial will have drama, but no surprise ending MORE (Iowa), John Thune
John Randolph ThuneSenate GOP whip: Murkowski's vote on Tanden is 'fluid' at the moment GOP says Ron Klain pulling Biden strings Rick Scott acknowledges Biden 'absolutely' won fair election MORE (S.D.) and Mike Rounds
Mike RoundsIndigenous groups post billboards urging senators to confirm Deb Haaland Powell pushes back on GOP inflation fears Overnight Health Care: US surpasses half a million COVID deaths | House panel advances Biden's .9T COVID-19 aid bill | Johnson & Johnson ready to provide doses for 20M Americans by end of March MORE (S.D.), among others.
However, Trump appeared to mispronounce Rounds’s last name.
"Mike Pounce" pic.twitter.com/k6uo1YInwg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 12, 2019
Twitter users immediately began sharing jokes about the mispronunciation, many of them cat-related. Some mistakenly thought Trump had been referring to Vice President Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceOvernight Health Care: Senate to vote on .9 trillion relief bill this week | J&J vaccine rollout begins | CDC warns against lifting restrictions Haley praises Trump CPAC speech after breaking with him over Capitol riot Republican Ohio Senate candidate calls on GOP rep to resign over impeachment vote MORE.
"HAVE YOU SEEN MIKE POUNCE?" pic.twitter.com/GMIYdBsCWq
— Paul Green (@bigsexy_tote) September 13, 2019
Who else saw Mike Pounce trending and already knew why?
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) September 13, 2019
Did someone say 'Mike Pounce'? #MikePounce pic.twitter.com/XCMsrIwKQz
— Mike Pounce (@Mike_Pounce_) September 13, 2019
And Mike Pounce was there....#mikepounce pic.twitter.com/Wx5ec0TPYR
— Carolyn Paine (@CarolynPaine) September 12, 2019
Mike Pounce is a great name for a book series about an ultraconservative cat. https://t.co/8vlbrChJJk
— James Oliphant (@jamesoliphant) September 12, 2019
Rounds’s name was corrected in the official White House transcript of the event.
Trump also mentioned the meeting at the White House earlier in the day Thursday, saying Rounds’s name correctly then.