Fact Check: Did Joe Biden call Rolling Fork Rolling Stone? President trolled over viral video

President Joe Biden visited Rolling Fork, a small-tornado-ravaged town in Mississippi, on Friday, March 31, and mistakenly referred to it as “Rolling Stone.” Though he corrected himself soon after, netizens were quick to pick it up and poke fun at the mistake.

The error in the speech happened twice while the president was delivering a speech to the town community, ensuring that they would receive help from the federal government in recovering from the destructive and deadly twister that tore apart the area last Friday.

Addressing the crowd, Biden said:

“I’m making sure you got a place to sleep, food to eat, helping you rebuild your lives in Rolling Stone.”

The president repeated the mistake later in his speech when he said:

“The town of Rolling Stone will be back, and we’ll be with you every step of the way.”

However, Biden acknowledged the mix-up of “Rolling Stone” and “Rolling Fork” towards the end of his speech and said:

“What did I say…I said Rolling Fork. Rolling Stone. I got my mind going here.”

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Netizens react to Joe Biden's gaffe during his speech addressing the Rolling Fork community

After Biden accidentally referred to the tornado-affected town of Rolling Fork as Rolling Stone on Friday, the video went viral on social media. It did not take long for people to react to the president’s gaffe.

He was heavily criticized for making the mistake, as many pointed out how the president cares little about the town and only made an appearance because he "puts politics before people."

Some also expressed their relief at the fact that he did not at least crack jokes about it this time, as he did during his speech on the Nashville school shooting in Tennessee. A few also mocked his statement where, after making the error in the speech, Biden claimed that he got his "mind going."

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Devastations caused by last week's tornado at Rolling Fork

According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, last week’s monster storm killed at least 25 people in Mississippi and left dozens injured.

The storm was rated as a powerful EF-4 tornado. Rolling Fork is a predominantly black community consisting of 2,000 residents and is located in one of Mississippi’s poorest counties.

The tornado began near the town of Rolling Fork and moved through Silver City, 30 miles northeast. As per radar analysis, the tornado, which was on the ground for 80 miles, was powerful enough to lift debris over 20,000 feet in the air.

Winds blowing up to 200 mph flatted houses, mangled mobile homes, sheared roofs off buildings, and uprooted trees.

Fred Miller, the former mayor of Rolling Fork, said that in addition to the residential areas where the tornado affected, most of the businesses in the town were also destroyed.

Joe Biden, who visited the town on Friday along with his wife, Jill Biden, conveyed his words of assurance to the community and said:

"We're not just here for today, I'm determined that we're going to leave nothing behind. We're going to get it done for you.”

An emergency declaration was issued by President Joe Biden early on Sunday last week, making federal funding available to areas in Humphreys, Monroe, Carroll, and Sharkey counties where the storm hit the hardest.

As per White House officials, at Biden’s direction, 300 federal personnel were sent to Rolling Fork to support the recovery efforts.