Forty-first President George H.W. Bush prematurely announced former South African President Nelson Mandela's death Sunday morning.
The mix-up happened when President Bush's spokesman Jim McGrath misread a Washington Post news flash.
'The 41 stmnt sent this morning was the result of my mis-reading the header on the WaPo news flash. Stupid mistake by me. Apologies to all,' Mr McGrath tweeted Sunday morning.
The 41 stmnt sent this morning was the result of my mis-reading the header on the WaPo news flash. Stupid mistake by me. Apologies to all.
— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) September 1, 2013
The original statement read: 'Barbara and I mourn the passing of one of the greatest believers in freedom we have had the privilege to know. As President, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 26 years of wrongful imprisonment — setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all. He was a man of tremendous moral courage, who changed the course of history in his country. Barbara and I had great respect for President Mandela, and send our condolences to his family and countrymen.'
The South African presidency corrected the statement, saying Mandela is still alive.
'It is clearly incorrect. We see it as an error on his side' and aren't going to 'make a big deal about it' presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
Nelson Mandela was discharged from the hospital Sunday after initially being admitted in June for a lung infection. He is still in critical condition.
Mr Mandela was taken by ambulance to his home in Johannesburg which has been set up to provide intensive care.
In a statement, the government said: 'Madiba's condition remains critical and is at times unstable.
'Nevertheless, his team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria.'
Former President H.W. Bush is also dealing with health problems of his own.
He was unable to attend the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial last Wednesday because his old age has confined him to a wheelchair.
据英国《每日邮报》报道，南非前总统曼德拉9月1日出院回家，美国第41任总统老布什当天竟然发表声明，向曼德拉“去世”表示哀悼。
他在声明中表示，“我和芭芭拉有幸认识这位最伟大的自由信徒之一，我们为他的去世表示 哀悼。在任总统期间，我不无惊讶地看到他以非凡的胸襟，在度过26年冤狱生涯后毅然宽恕让他身陷囹圄的人，为我们大家树立了赎罪和风度的杰出典范，他以巨 大的道德勇气，改变了他的国家的历史进程。我和芭芭拉非常尊重曼德拉总统，我们向他的家人和国人表示哀悼。”
对此，南非总统府表示曼德拉还活着。总统发言人麦哈拉杰纠正说，“这个声明显然有误。我们认为是他那边搞错了，但不会为此小题大做。”
老布什的发言人吉姆·麦格拉思误读《华盛顿邮报》标题后迅速在推特上为此道歉。
尴尬之余，老布什的发言人吉姆·麦格拉思迅速通过推特向公众表示道歉。他说，总统发表该声明是因为自己误读了《华盛顿邮报》新闻快讯标题，犯了愚蠢的错误。据悉老布什发表的哀悼曼德拉的声明几个星期前就已拟定好了。
据报道，曼德拉的病情依然危重，但是他已于9月1日乘救护车出院。他的医疗团队保证让他在家里接受与医院一样的重症监护措施。而老布什本人也年事已高，也有健康问题，不得不坐在轮椅上，因而未能参加8月28日纪念马丁·路德·金的活动。