Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León was asked by City Council President Nury Martinez on Tuesday to lead the council in reciting the pledge of allegiance, which is traditionally held before council meetings.
However, de León managed to fumble the pledge, only getting the first line correct.
Pledge of Allegiance fail at today's L.A. city council meeting... pic.twitter.com/cKdcB7HpEp
— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) January 26, 2021
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America," de León began flawlessly. Unfortunately, however, he seemed to have forgotten the line that comes afterwards, taking a long pause before continuing "undervisible."
Realizing he screwed up, de León started over, once again reciting the first line before muttering under his breath in frustration.
The councilor decided to skip the next few words, "and to the Republic for..." He continued by saying "which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
A councilor could be heard directly afterwards exclaiming "oof" in recognition of the subpar performance.
De León presumably has recited the pledge multiple times while attending school and council meetings, raising questions as to why he did not know the words.
While the botching of the pledge was widely mocked online, de León took his blunder in good humor, uploading an image to Twitter of Bart Simpson writing the pledge of allegiance over and over again on the chalkboard in reference to The Simpsons' famous opening chalkboard gags.
Embarrassing, am I right? If you or someone you know got a good laugh out of my own “unique” version of the pledge of allegiance, consider donating a few $$ to https://t.co/Ig5Qrkr4i2. They’re doing amazing work in CD 14 to provide food security for undocumented immigrants. pic.twitter.com/XBpc6V2fTQ
— Kevin de Le?n (@kdeleon) January 27, 2021
The councilor also used the attention to raise money for a charity which provides economic aid to illegal immigrants living in District 14, the district he represents on the Los Angeles city council.
"If you or someone you know got a good laugh out of my own 'unique' version of the pledge of allegiance, consider donating a few $$ to https://nouswithoutyou.l," he tweeted. "They’re doing amazing work in CD 14 to provide food security for undocumented immigrants."
The councilor's spokesman, Pete Brown, said that the councilor had "a lot on his plate," which is why he fumbled the lyrics to the pledge. "There's thousands of kids in his district who are doing the pledge and they’re at risk of being homeless. He's thinking about that."
De León won his seat in a special election for council after his predecessor, Jose Huizar, was arrested and faced charges related to racketeering and corruption. He previously served as President pro Tempore of the California Senate, the highest ranking position in the chamber.
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