On Friday, Joe Biden gave a disjointed and odd speech that was met with uncomfortable scattered laughter. Biden spoke at the capitol shortly after Speaker of The House Kevin McCarthy at the yearly Friends of Ireland luncheon. McCarthy is Irish and tried to build a bridge between himself and Biden, citing that Republican President Ronald Reagan and then-House Speaker Democrat Tip O’Neil had been able to work together despite their party differences.
Biden responded to McCarthy’s invitation to work together, saying, “I agree with the speaker; there’s no reason why we can’t find common ground. There’s no reason why we can’t hope to change this direction of the extremes both parties are pushing.”He continued, “I think it’s important. I think it’s really important. And that’s the power of friendship. I think it’s the power of — it’s the strength of our partnership if we work at it, and simply put, I think it’s the Irish of it.”

Biden, who is a small percentage of Irish, continued speaking with a series of poorly told stereotypical jokes muttered about his Irish ancestry in an attempt to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Biden made a joke expressing surprise that his distant Irish relatives aren’t “in jail” and that he’s “really not Irish” because he doesn’t drink.
“I’ve been to Ireland many times, but not to actually look up, to find my actual family members, and there are so many, and they actually weren’t in jail,” Biden, then went on to list all of the family members he met on a six-day visit he took to the country.
Biden continued, “There’s still a place called Finnegan’s pub … that’s related to my family,”
“I’m the only Irishman you ever met, though, that’s never had a drink, so I’m okay. I’m really not Irish,” Biden said.

But the irony of Biden joking about not having family in jail during a federal criminal investigation of his son Hunter while House Republicans also investigate the family’s international business deals was not lost on the public. GOP investigators are hoping to determine the president’s role in family business ventures dating back to when Joe was Vice President and earlier. Some of his dealings have involved his son Hunter and his brother James Biden. The family has had dealings in China, Mexico, Russia, and Ukraine.

 

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