8) The Three Rs
Here’s one that was a clear reference to actual events, but the Veep occurrence is so ridiculous that it’s difficult to believe it genuinely unfolded.
During the season 4 episode “Debate,” Selina Meyer bungles her performance when she brings up “three Rs,” only to forget the third one. She manages to get out “reform,” “reaffirm,” but she can’t think of “renew;” staff members angrily shout into their TVs as Meyer attempts to escape the PR nightmare. She nervously says, “The third R is…actually, in fact, let me go back to reaffirm, which was number two.” A debate moderator hammers Selina about the last R, so she’s forced to come up with a third word on the spot: repel. That doesn’t quite work in the context of what she’s been saying, but it’s all she can think of.
This mirrors a famous debate moment from back in 2011. During a Republican debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry promised he would eliminate three government agencies when he becomes president. Unfortunately, after Department of Education and Department of Commerce, he couldn’t think of the third one.
Believe it or not, the real-life equivalent is far more cringeworthy than the scene in Veep; though Selina was able to recover, Perry never did name a third agency, even after a moderator asked him to clarify. The exchange ended with the four letters that destroyed a campaign: “Oops.”