Obama mixes up Scotland and Ireland in COP26 remarks

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Former President Barack Obama mixed up Scotland and Ireland while addressing the COP26 conference in Glasgow on Monday.

Toward the end of his speech at the United Nations climate change event held this year in the Scottish city, Obama referred to the location by a common nickname for the wrong country.

“Since we’re in the Emerald Isles here, let me quote the bard, William Shakespeare,” Obama said. “‘What wound,’ he writes, ‘did ever heal but by degrees.’”

The term “Emerald Isle” refers to Ireland, not Scotland or other countries in the United Kingdom. On top of that, Shakespeare is England’s national bard, not Scotland’s. That honor goes to Robert Burns, author of poems and songs, including “Auld Lang Syne.”

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  Former President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks during the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.    (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

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  Former President Barack Obama attends a roundtable meeting at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.  (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Obama’s quote was directed toward the young people in the audience, telling them that combating climate change is “a marathon, not a sprint,” and that while they should “stay angry” and “frustrated,” they should know that “solving a problem this big, this complex and this important has never happened all at once.”

The former president also directed young people to pressure lawmakers into taking action against climate change and make their voices heard at the polls.

“Vote like your life depends on it, because it does,” he said.

Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

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