President Biden visited the small tornado-ravaged Mississippi town of Rolling Fork on Friday and twice referred to it as “Rolling Stone.”
Biden committed his latest gaffe while delivering a speech to the community, ensuring them that the federal government would help as they recover from the deadly and destructive twister that tore through the area last Friday.
“We’re not just here for today … we’re going to get it done for you,” Biden told the crowd. “I’m making sure you got a place to sleep, food to eat, helping you rebuild your lives in Rolling Stone.”
He later repeated the mistake later in his speech: “The town of Rolling Stone will be back, and we’ll be with you every step of the way,” he said.
Biden, 80, acknowledged the mix-up towards the end of the remarks, Fox News reported.
“What did I say, I said Rolling Fork,” the president said. “Rolling Stone. I got my mind going here.”
At least 26 people were killed and dozens were injured in Mississippi and Alabama when a monster storm, rated as a powerful EF-4 tornado, hit the region.
The tornado touched down last Friday in Rolling Fork — a predominantly black community of 2,000 residents located in one of the poorest counties in Mississippi — which was among the hardest hit by the twister.
Winds up to 200 mph uprooted trees, flattened houses, sheared roofs off buildings and mangled mobile homes.
President Biden issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi early Sunday, making federal funding available to the hardest-hit areas in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said 25 people were confirmed killed in Mississippi, 55 people were injured and 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Another man was killed in Alabama when his trailer home flipped over several times.
“The west part of Rolling Fork is a residential area, and just a number of houses over there have been completely destroyed,” former Rolling Fork Mayor Fred Miller told FOX Weather after the twister. “Highway 61, where most of our businesses are, all of the businesses on 61 have been completely destroyed.”
Aerial before and after photos of the town revealed the widespread destruction, with mounds of debris where former businesses and homes once stood.
