For a presidential hopeful who’s developed a reputation for gaffes and ignorance, this isn’t going to help persuade people that he knows what he’s talking about.

Rick Perry told a crowd [in Iowa] today that he would cut $5 trillion out of Obama’s budget.

The problem: Obama’s proposed budget is $3.7 trillion

“I’m going to walk into Washington and I’m going to bring a budget forward that’s going to cut $5 trillion out of Obama’s budget that he has laid out,” Perry said to applause of the crowd of about 50 people at La Chiesa Restaurant in Spencer.

Remember when this guy was the frontrunner?

What probably happened was that Perry’s advisers told him he has a plan to slash public investments in the near future, intending to save trillions over the course of many years. The Texas governor, easily confused, took that to mean he’ll present “a budget … that’s going to cut $5 trillion out of Obama’s budget.”

There’s a reason it’s nearly impossible to take this guy seriously.

Those who are keeping track of Perry’s painful flubs — someone is chronicling these, right? — have another gem for the list.

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Follow Steve on Twitter @stevebenen. Steve Benen is a producer at MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show. He was the principal contributor to the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog from August 2008 until January 2012.