The political class is not having a great week, lowkey. Politicians from both sides of the aisle are fumbling the bag with slip-ups and messaging fails that are catching unwanted attention.

The Big Blunder: Sen. Schmitt vs. Jack Smith

The biggest oopsie came from Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt. During a Tuesday hearing, he tried to call out former Special Counsel Jack Smith for perjury. Schmitt claimed Smith lied under oath about attending an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, citing text messages as proof. The only problem? Smith didn't go to the NBA game. He actually attended an Iowa Hawkeyes women's college basketball game that night. Oops.

Cameras caught the stunned reaction of Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, who was sitting next to Schmitt. One reporter called it a "mythical staff f*ck up," the kind that interns will hear about for decades. A liberal YouTuber even joked that Schmitt "just aborted his 2028 VP odds on live TV."

Schmitt tried to play it off on X, joking, "Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?" – referring to the Iowa game. But critics like New York Times columnist David French weren't having it, calling it "pitiful" and saying Schmitt should "apologize, immediately."

Other Political Fumbles

It wasn't just Schmitt. Maine's Democratic Senate nominee, Troy Jackson, got called out by left-wing figures for a video where he sipped boba tea and criticized his opponent's wealthy backers. Podcaster Kyle Kulinski said it was "unhelpful and cringey" and urged Jackson to "just get out there and tell the truth."

Even Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., had a moment, accidentally calling himself a "lifelong Republican" before correcting himself. And Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is facing backlash for an ad featuring a White male gamer named "Brad" who chooses not to work, with critics saying it avoids showing demographic groups who rely more on government assistance.

Why it matters

These kinds of public blunders can seriously hurt a politician's reputation and derail their campaigns. It shows that even in the high-stakes world of politics, small mistakes can have major consequences and go viral for all the wrong reasons.