"...hung up on semantics..."
Which is precisely what the legal system in the US does. The judiciary gets into semantic analysis and declares a law unconstitutional. Sometimes, they get a little loose with the semantics and attempt to ascertain 'intent' and make a determination about the law.
Semantics matter when your life is on the line. Semantics matter when you're trying to communicate clearly.
Yes, that would be for the best because as it is it's not just people who get hung up on semantics that are going to be bothered by this, it will allow opposition to his statements to reject them out of hand as untrue. And that is the bigger worry.