During Tuesday night's Democratic Debate, presidential candidate and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley confused the President of Russia with the President of Syria, provoking a quick dirge of Twitter reaction.
"I think Assad's invasion of Syria will be seen as a blunder," O'Malley said in a response to a question that was ultimately regarding whether Hillary Clinton was too quick to use military force during her time as Secretary of State.
O'Malley was presumably referring to Russia's recent bombing campaign in Syria. President Vladamir Putin is the president of Russia, while Bashar al-Assad is the president of Syria.
Though none of his fellow Democratic candidates called out his error, the people of Twitter did not hold back.
According to Martin O'Malley, Assad Invaded Syria. #DemDebate #TTT16
"I think Assad's invasion of Syria will be seen as a blunder." No, I think that was the blunder right there. #DemDebate
Martin O’Malley stands alone in opposing Assad’s invasion of Syria.
"I think Assad's invasion of Syria will be seen as a blunder." — O'Malley, making literally zero sense
In response to questions about this name-swap, O'Malley spokesperson Haley Morris told BuzzFeed News that the candidate's statement was "Just a slip. Clearly meant Putin."