"Correct" modern C++ eliminates whole classes of problems. You can of course still write C code, but no one would merge that in to their codebase

That requires the programmer to practice discipline. If someone needs something better than C, there's alternatives to C++ that don't require "Programmer needs to be disciplined".

Theyre both complicated languages in their own way :)

No. C++ is, without doubt, the most complicated language there is. Nothing else, not Java, C#, Rust, etc comes even close.

C, OTOH, is simple enough that implementing it is practical even for students. The number of footguns are a handful.

They are severe, but not numerous. C++ has both numerous and severe footguns.