As the “War on Terrorism” rages on, Ben Carson unwittingly launched a “War On Tahini,” making himself a laughing stock, while speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), Thursday, in Washington D.C., when he repetitively referred to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas as “Hummus,” prompting the Twittersphere to open up a comedic assault on the Republican presidential nominee.
As one might expect, Carson’s mispronunciation of Hamas caused a ripple of laughter in the audience, and certainly did very little for his cause in speaking to the Jewish Coalition. Nor did it do much to assure those present of his knowledge, understanding and diplomacy when it comes to foreign relations. Check out some of the comedic backlash Carson received on Twitter as a result:
A lot of chuckles when Ben Carson pronounces "Hamas" because a few times sounded more like "hummus." Also possible folks ready for lunch.
— Carrie Levine (@levinecarrie) December 3, 2015
Ben Carson not just concerned about Hummus terror threat, but about dire situation in Baba Ghanoush and Tabouli.
— tad friend (@tadfriend) December 3, 2015
"Obama doesn't even have a plan to defeat hummus" https://t.co/bdwysrwbaf
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 3, 2015
https://twitter.com/mikebarish/status/672529291180171264
Ben Carson is reading his 7th-grade book report on the Israel-Palestine conflict. And says "Hummus" rules the Gaza Strip.
— Jesse Yomtov (@JesseYomtov) December 3, 2015
I have to disagree with Ben Carson. Hummus is delicious and we should have more of it.
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) December 3, 2015
One of the funnier tweets offered a Vine compilation of Carson’s error spliced together with a snippet from the film “Bruno”:
Isn't pita bread the real enemy? #RJCForum https://t.co/s1oM5xgWFZ
— ? BOOrenna KILLiams ? (@brennawilliams) December 3, 2015
Unfortunately for Carson, no one slipped him a note letting him know of his error, but as readers can see, Twitter was happy to take up that mantle. Even former Bush press secretary and RJC board member Ari Fleischer got into the mix and had a little fun:
Poor Ben Carson. Someone should have told him how to pronounce Hamas. He sounds like he's not familiar with the group.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) December 3, 2015
Before folks start laughing too hard, though, hardcore animal lovers may just want to watch their backs for a while. Carson’s next move may just be a war on “Pita,” too.
In all seriousness, however, it’s important to consider that Carson is running for the presidency, allegedly the most powerful position in the world. Neither Americans, nor the rest of the world, can continue to tolerate such incompetence. There is too much at stake, especially in these tumultuous times. If the guy can’t even get the pronunciation of Hamas right, how can Americans trust him to handle relations with the rest of the world with any form of informed intelligence, prudence or wisdom? And how can the rest of the world take him seriously enough to keep America from becoming, once again, one big joke?
