Governor Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, is nothing short of a cretino!
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Gov. Rick Scott became a Spanish punch line this week after a televised gaffe with the king of Spain, who's reeling from an elephant-shooting scandal.
"I've ridden elephants, I've never tried to shoot one," Scott said, smiling as he walked in and shook the hand of King Juan Carlos.
The king seemed to freeze and mumble "Oh."
You can't blame him.
The 74-year-old monarch was pilloried for hunting elephants in Botswana, where he injured his hip. Spaniards were infuriated because the king took such an expensive hunting trip at a time when the country is in such dire economic straits. About one in four Spaniards are unemployed. Also, Juan Carlos is an honorary president of Spain's branch of the World Wildlife Fund.
"I am very sorry. I made a mistake. It won't happen again," the king said in an apology when he left a Madrid hospital in crutches.
The king has since recovered. And the scandal had seemed to die down.
Enter Scott — who was visiting Spain this week on a trade mission.
Not only did the governor start with the I've-never-shot-an-elephant ice-breaker, Scott then continued to talk about elephants and Botswana after he introduced his wife, Ann, to the king.
"We were in Botswana," Scott says. "And we were in the Jeep. And an elephant started to chase the Jeep. My wife was in the back part of the Jeep and she wanted to get out to the front of the Jeep."
"I needed you in the Jeep with me," Ann leans in to say to the king.
Juan Carlos laughed nervously at the elephant in the room and . . . Cut! The video stops.
But the laughter began. Newspapers nationwide and late-night Spanish television made Scott's elephant story a topic of uproarious laughter.
"All the news outlets highlight the absolute lack of tact of the Florida governor, which can only be attributed to poor preparation for the meeting," TV personality Sandra Sabatés says on the satirical news show El Intermedio (Halftime). "Gov. Scott continues, obstinate in his error. He adds insult to injury and asks the king increasingly uncomfortable questions about the details of the hunt."
At one point, Scott suggests that the king needs a better story to tell than that he injured his hip getting out of bed while on the trip.
"On top of it, he thinks the anecdote is s- - -!" the show's host, a comedian known as El Gran Wyoming (The Great Wyoming), roars about Scott. "That's because he's American. If the story is about an exploding car and Will Smith killing someone, he's bored."
Returning to Florida on Thursday afternoon, Scott was met by a gaggle of media at Miami International Airport.
"If I did anything . . . wrong I completely apologize," he said. "The king's a wonderful person. He's a wonderful world leader. He's done so many wonderful things in his life. And we had a great conversation.
"The first thing I asked him about was his hip, of course, because he had been injured," Scott said.
Continue reading...http://www.tampabay.com/news/bizarre/gov-scott-talks-to-king-juan-carlos-of-spain-about-elephant-hunt-creates/1231789
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