5 'Oops' Moments From Donald Trump on the Campaign Trail
He has a history of stumbles when name-dropping.
— -- Donald Trump is known for speaking off the cuff on the campaign trail, sometimes to his detriment.
The Republican presidential front-runner has not only prompted outcry over controversial policy positions but also for a number of gaffes he's made in addressing crowds.
Here are some of Trump's biggest "oops" moments, focusing on his small talk, rather than his policy positions:
Calling for the Return of Joe Paterno
The latest incident happened Wednesday night when Trump was at an event in Pittsburgh and invoked the famed Penn State football coach.
"I know a lot about Pennsylvania, and it’s great. How’s Joe Paterno? Are we going to bring that back?" Trump said.
Paterno died in 2012, making the moment an awkward one for some members of the audience.
Trump's campaign later clarified that he was talking about the bronze statue of Paterno that was removed from Penn State's campus in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant coach.
Endorsement Error
In another instance where Trump appeared to be trying to connect with a crowd by namedropping, Trump on Tuesday named the wrong person when citing an endorsement.
"We’ve had so many great endorsements with Gov. Christie and with Sarah Palin and with everybody. Vander Plaats, our friend Bob Vander Plaats from Liberty University," Trump said at an event in Rome, New York.
The problem there was twofold: Vander Plaats isn't connected with Liberty University, and he hasn't endorsed Trump.
Vander Plaats, a conservative political activist, is the national co-chair for Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign.
Trump presumably meant to name Jerry Falwell, the founder of Liberty University, who did endorse Trump.
Flubbing a Bible Reference
Another gaffe occurred when Trump was actually speaking at Liberty University.
During an event in January at the Christian school, Trump was citing a Bible passage, 2 Corinthians, and rather than reading that as it is meant to be said ("Second Corinthians"), he did it his own way ("Two Corinthians").
The gaffe was widely noted but didn't lead to any retractions of endorsements by evangelical leaders.
Naming the Wrong Longtime Doctor
When Trump's personal physician released a very Trump-esque letter using flowery language and effusive adjectives to describe the real estate mogul's health, Trump praised the proclamation.
The only problem? He said that the letter was from another doctor. In announcing the letter on his Facebook page in December, Trump said that it came from "the highly respected Dr. Jacob Bornstein."
The letter was actually from Dr. Harold Bornstein, Jacob's son, who took over as Trump's personal physician in 1980.
The Facebook post has since been removed.
Playing to the Wrong Team
While trying to win over voters' hearts in Wisconsin last month, Trump name-dropped another high-profile acquaintance of his.
This time, Trump tried to connect with Green Bay Packers fans by saying that his "friend" Tom Brady "says you have a great quarterback," referring to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
While there was nothing technically wrong with his statement, some found it odd to bring up a rival football star in enemy territory. (Brady is the quarterback for the New England Patriots.)
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