PM's office airbrushes Netanyahu's 'Yeltsin' gaffe
Netanyahu misspoke at Sunday cabinet meeting, referring to his British counterpart Boris Johnson as the former Russian president, but recording later released had dubbed over the gaffe
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has released a video that clumsily tries to edit out a gaffe where he calls the British prime minister the wrong name.
Netanyahu misspoke at Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, referring to his British counterpart Boris Johnson as Boris Yeltsin, the former Russian president who died in 2007.
Cabinet ministers immediately corrected his error, which he then sought to turn into a joke, commenting that he wanted to be sure that they were all awake.
נתניהו ישיבת הממשלה:
— Yanir Cozin - יניר קוזין (@yanircozin) September 8, 2019
"חזרתי מביקור מהיר מאוד בלונדון שם נפגשתי עם ראש הממשלה *בוריס ילצין* "
ילצין ממקום קבורתו: "פחות" pic.twitter.com/UHhOFAAvwR
But an official video of the meeting released hours later suddenly cuts away from Netanyahu at the moment he says Yeltsin — instead he's heard saying "Boris Johnson."
The gaffe comes as Netanyahu fights for his survival ahead of next week's re-do election.
His campaign has branded the long-serving leader as a veteran statesman with close relations with world leaders.
The two premiers met Thursday during Netanyahu's snap trip to London.
