White House bafflingly claims Trump actually said 'oringes,' not 'oranges'

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 3 April 2019

President Trump didn't mistakenly say "oranges" when he meant to say "origins." The White House wants Americans to be clear about that.

Of course, he didn't say "origins," either — the proof is in the tapes. No, what he really said was the heretofore unbeknownst word, "oringes," according to White House transcripts.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Mispronunciation-gate — or maybe it should be "wrong word-gate" — spread quickly on social media and on TV, but the White House went another route. Mediaite reports that the official transcript of the meeting, produced by White House communications staffers, replaces "oranges" by swapping out a vowel. Instead, the transcript reads "oringes," which doesn't seem much better than mentioning a fruit. But admitting the mistake is always the first step.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.