FOLLOWING Joe Biden’s visit last week, Barack Obama seems to have stolen the show at COP26.
The ex-president still has pulling power like few others and all eyes were on the former Chicago senator as he arrived in Glasgow.
In the second and final week of the climate conference, Obama delivered a speech to delegates in the SEC.
He urged young people to “stay angry” about climate change, but asked them to channel their frustration into action.
The former president helped some locals stay angry by mispronouncing the name of their city, “Glass-cow”.
But such is his popularity that Glaswegians were happy to forgive and forget.
Obama moved on to warn world leaders have “not done nearly enough to address this crisis”.
Unfortunately, it seemed the former White House chief hadn’t done enough research on Scotland.
Concluding the speech, he said: “Since we’re in the Emerald Isle here, let me quote the bard, William Shakespeare.
READ MORE: Barack Obama delivers major speech to COP26 climate summit in Glasgow
Referencing a line from Othello, Obama continued: “What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
“Our planet has been wounded by our actions – those wounds won’t be healed today, or tomorrow, or the next, but they can be healed by degrees.
“If we start with that spirit and each of us can fight through the occasional frustration and dread, if we pledge to do our part and then follow through on those commitments, I believe we can secure a better future. We have to.
“And what a profound and noble task to set for ourselves.
“I’m ready for the long haul if you are, so let’s get to work.”
Lovely words, but Rabbie Burns – and Ireland – might have a thing or two to say about the link.
Scots were willing to let the mistake slip, for the most part.
“Great speech by Obama #COP26 (little side note though, the Emerald Isle is Ireland not Scotland),” one person commented.
Another wrote: “I like Obama. But Emerald Isles? Really?”
Holyrood Magazine editor Mandy Rhodes added: “A tiny bit of me died there when Obama said ‘we are here in the Emerald Isles’ [we are in Glass Cow].”
Despite the gaffe, we bet Obama is still a good deal more popular than the last US president.
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