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50 Greatest Event Flops in History

FLOP No. 14 – Mission Accomplished Aircraft Carrier Speech (2003)

Gatheringpoint.news: The 50 Biggest Flops in Event History

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David Adler
Aug 25, 2025
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President Bush on USS Abraham Lincoln

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The Promise: A victory lap moment—President George W. Bush aboard a U.S. Navy ship, declaring an end to major combat in Iraq.

What Happened: The banner behind him read “Mission Accomplished.” But the war was far from over. Violence escalated. The optics became iconic—in the worst way.

What Failed: Premature messaging. Stagin…

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