After releasing statement on Nelson Mandela death.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty
Talk about an embarrassing oversight. When former President George W.H. Bush announced the death of Nelson Mandela Sunday via a statement of mourning, it was shocking—because Mandela is still very much alive. Jim McGrath, the spokesperson responsible for the error, tweeted later Sunday that he had misread a news flash on The Washington Post’s website. "Stupid mistake by me," McGrath wrote. "Apologies to all." South African presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj cleared up any misunderstanding. "It is clearly incorrect, We see it as an error on [Bush’s] side," he said.
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