White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced ridicule on social media after mistakenly referring to the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline as 'Nordstrom 1' during a press briefing. The gaffe occurred on Monday when she discussed Russia's shutdown of the pipeline, which supplies gas from Russia to Europe.
Jean-Pierre stated, 'One of the things that has been out there … they shut down the pipeline of Nordstrom 1.' The error quickly went viral, with many users pointing out that Nordstrom is a high-end department store, not a pipeline. Senator Ted Cruz tweeted a clip of the moment, sarcastically commenting, 'This was not a slip of the tongue. Biden gave it to Putin as a gift from Nordstrom's.'
Fox Radio host Jimmy Failla also joined in, tweeting, 'Not sure what's worse, that Karine Jean Pierre just called it The NORDSTROM Pipeline, or that Biden yelled at his TV, 'no dummy it's Bloomingdales'.' Other social media users joked about other department stores being targeted, with one suggesting, 'Maybe Europe could just get their energy cheaper from Nordstrom Rack?'
The blunder comes shortly after Jean-Pierre clashed with Senator Cruz over border policies. Cruz had invited her to visit the southern border, but she declined, stating she had already been there in 2018. She criticised the Trump administration's immigration policies and said she did not need lectures from Republicans on the issue.
