President Donald Trump announced a new—and incorrect—way to pronounce a common biblical name on Monday.
Speaking ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, Trump, 79, paused before unveiling his 20-point plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza to brag about his loyalty to Israel.
“No president in history has been a greater friend to the state of Israel than I have. In addition to negotiating the Abraaaham accords,” he said, mispronouncing the name of the 2020 agreement between Israel and several majority-Muslim nations that he regularly touts as his own achievement.
Trump then paused to explain that his pronunciation was, in fact, the correct one. “I like to say it that way because the real people, that’s what they call it, Abraaaham,” he said, repeating his preferred pronunciation of the word.
The president then took his phonetic falter a step further: “I would say Abraham, but it’s so much nicer when you say Abraaaham—so much more elegant.”
Then, during his own remarks, Netanyahu did what few people ever dare try to do: he corrected Trump.
“Under [Trump’s] leadership, we can reenergize,” Netanyahu began, before correcting himself. “I have to contribute my own—the Avraham Accords,” he said. “That’s what it’s called in the original Hebrew: Avraham. Abraham is fine, Abraaaham—however you want to call it.”
Social media users were quick to joke that the exchange might single-handedly derail peace in the Middle East. “This deal could fall apart now that Bibi insisted on his own pronunciation of Abraham,” political advisor Annika Hernroth-Rothstein wrote on X.
But Trump went on to say that Israel had agreed to his plan to end the war in Gaza, which has raged since Hamas’ terror attack on October 7, 2023.
“I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we’ve seen for so many years, decades—even centuries—and begin a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region,” Trump said.
While Trump, as usual, strayed completely off-topic at some points during the announcement, the White House had already sent out his 20-point “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” while the two were meeting behind closed doors.
It set out a series of conditions that must be met but could eventually lead to a two-state solution while also barring Israel from annexing Gaza.
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