Rick Perry stumbles over Supreme Court justices and the name “Sotomayor” (VIDEO)

Rick Perry made headlines again on Friday — and it wasn't for his TV ad criticizing the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," which has gone viral on YouTube and been deemed anti-gay.

In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Perry incorrectly stated that there were eight Supreme Court judges, rather than nine.

“I trust those independent school districts to make those decisions better than eight unelected and frankly unaccountable judges,” Perry said in discussing school prayer.

He also "stumbled on the name of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor — calling her "Montemayor."

He had been attempting to label Sotomayor — whose name he managed to pronounce with the help of a Register staffer — and Elena Kagan as "activist" judges opposed to the free expression of religion.

“I do think that this president is conducting what I consider to be an attack on traditional religious organizations and/or traditional religious values by those two examples,’’ the Texas governor said.

Perry has been focusing on religion and gay rights in an effort to court Iowa's many evangelical voters, according to NBC News. 

However, he's come in for heavy criticism by gay rights groups — and even some of his own aides — over his decision Tuesday to release an ad that criticizing gays serving openly in the military.

(GlobalPost reports: Rick Perry's anti-gay ad splits campaign staff, draws negative reaction)

In the video, which went viral with over 3.2 million views and has even spawned a highly successful parody, Perry says:

"You don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school. As president, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage."

Similar gaffes have plagued Perry's campaign, helping to diminish what NBC calls his "swagger" narrative.

The Register reminded readers that during the debate in Michigan last month, Perry had failed to remember the third of three government departments he pledged to eliminate as president.

He named the commerce and education departments but gave up and said, “Sorry, oops,” when he couldn’t remember the energy department.