‘I may be Irish but I’m not stupid’: Joe Biden’s controversial comments on Ireland
Joe Biden confused the name of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team with the reviled British paramilitary force the Black and Tans, who brutally repressed opponents of British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
The US president made the mistake on Wednesday when thanking distant relative and former Irish rugby player, Rob Kearney, for the gift of an Irish team tie after a victory against the New Zealand rugby team at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016.
He said: “See this tie I have, this shamrock tie? It was given to me by one of these guys right here, who’s a hell of a rugby player who beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.”
The 80-year-old went on to correct himself during the speech in Co Louth on Wednesday – and the White House said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans the president was referring to the New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks when he made the mistaken reference.
Asked if he realised his mistake, National Security Council senior director for Europe, Amanda Sloat, said: “It was clear what the president was referring to, it was certainly clear to his cousins sitting next to him.”
However, Mr Biden was criticised on social media, with the incident being described as a “signature gaffe”.
Joe Biden celebrating St Patrick’s Day at the White House this year
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As he continues his visit in Ireland, we take a look at some of his controversial jokes and reactions to some of his past comments about the island.
He has frequently spoken of his Irish roots and his love for the country – but not all of his light-hearted comments have gone down well in the past.
‘Anyone wearing orange, you’re not welcome in’
When Mr Biden was vice-president in 2015, he made a joke when the then-Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny visited his house in Washington on St Patrick’s Day.
“Anyone wearing orange, you’re not welcome in… only joking,” he said, wearing a green tie as they smiled for a picture.
Orange is the colour associated with the Protestant majority in Northern Ireland, while green is used as a symbol by mostly Catholic Irish nationalists.
The joke, at the expense of the Orange Order, which counts Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs among its number, led to criticism from the DUP and a backlash on social media.
William McCrea, the former DUP representative for South Antrim, said he appreciated that Mr Biden said it was a joke, but called his comments a “slur” and said they were “disgraceful and careless”.
The party called for him to apologise. An official from his office said he made it clear that it was a joke.
‘I may be Irish but I’m not stupid’
The president opened a St Patrick’s Day speech at the White House last year with a joke about his wife Jill, and his Irish heritage.
He said: “Father, before I begin – bless me, Father, for I’m about to sin… I – well, I just want you to know, I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid. I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter [Jill Biden’s grandfather] so, you know, I got a little Italian in me now.”
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Some in the audience did laugh, but the off-the-cuff remark referencing his own roots left some unimpressed including Twitter users who shared their incredulity that he would infer that people from Ireland are “stupid”.
The president has repeated this joke on more than one occasion.
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‘I’m the only Irish who’s never had a drink’
He joked his relatives ‘weren’t really in jail’
More recently, the US leader also joked about his experience meeting distant members of his Irish family.
He told the crowd: “When I went over to Ireland, It was a great experience. 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.”
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Biden ‘really not Irish’ as he has ‘never had a drink’
The joke seemed to go down well with the crowd who laughed and a second joke followed. Reminiscing about his stay, he added: “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.”
The president does not drink alcohol.
He then spoke about his Irish roots from his mother’s side of the family – the Finnegans and the Blewitts.
Fears of a US-EU trade war have been reignited after Europe refused to back down in the face of fresh threats from Donald Trump.
The word tariff has dominated much of the US president’s second term, and he has repeatedly and freely threatened countries with them.
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This included the so-called “liberation day” last month, where he unleashed tariffs on many of his trade partners.
On Friday, after a period of relative calm which has included striking a deal with the UK, he threatened to impose a 50% tariff on the EU after claiming trade talks with Brussels were “going nowhere”.
The US president has repeatedly taken issue with the EU, going as far as to claim it was created to rip the US off.
However, in the face of the latest hostile rhetoric from Mr Trump’s social media account, the European Commission – which oversees trade for the 27-country bloc – has refused to back down.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday
Fellow EU leaders and ministers have also held the line after Mr Trump’s comments.
Polish deputy economy minister Michal Baranowski said the tariffs appeared to be a negotiating ploy, with Dutch deputy prime minister Dick Schoof said tariffs “can go up and down”.
French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the latest threats did nothing to help trade talks.
He stressed “de-escalation” was one of the EU’s main aims but warned: “We are ready to respond.”
Mr Sefcovic spoke with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick after Mr Trump’s comments.
Mr Trump has previously backed down on a tit-for-tat trade war with China, which saw tariffs soar above 100%.
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Sticking points
Talks between the US and EU have stumbled.
In the past week, Washington sent a list of demands to Brussels – including adopting US food safety standards and removing national digital services taxes, people familiar with the talks told Reuters news agency.
In response, the EU reportedly offered a mutually beneficial deal that could include the bloc potentially buying more liquefied natural gas and soybeans from the US, as well as cooperation on issues such as steel overcapacity, which both sides blame on China.
Stocks tumble as Trump grumbles
Major stock indices tumbled after Mr Trump’s comments, which came as he also threatened to slap US tech giant Apple with a 25% tariff.
The president is adamant that he wants the company’s iPhones to be built in America.
The vast majority of its phones are made in China, and the company has also shifted some production to India.
Shares of Apple ended 3% lower and the dollar sank 1% versus the Japanese yen and the euro rose 0.8% against the dollar.
In the dozens of framed images and newspaper clippings covering the walls of his office in downtown New York City, Al Sharpton is pictured alongside presidents and leading protests.
He has spent decades campaigning and is perhaps the most famous civil rights activist in the US today.
Many of those clippings on the wall relate to one moment in May 2020 – the murder of George Floyd.
George Floyd was killed while under arrest in Minneapolis in May 2020
Speaking to Sky News ahead of the five-year anniversary of that moment, Mr Sharpton remembered the combination of “humiliation and deep anger” he felt seeing the footage of Mr Floyd’s death that swept the world.
“The more I watched, the more angry I felt,” he said.
Mr Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer.
Mr Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported he had made a purchase using counterfeit money.
Chauvin knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, while he was handcuffed and lying face down in the street.
Chauvin pressed his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, as the victim repeatedly said ‘I can’t breathe’. Pic: AP
‘A seismic moment’
For Mr Sharpton, who has marched with countless other families, this felt different because it was “graphic and unnecessary”.
“What kind of person would hear somebody begging for their life and ignore them?” he said.
“I had no idea this would become a seismic moment,” he continued.
“I think people would accuse civil rights leaders, activists like me of being opportunistic, but we don’t know if one call from the next one is going to be big, all we know is we have to answer to the call.”
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Trump ‘pouring salt on the wounds’
Mr Floyd’s death took place during Donald Trump’s first term in the White House.
During Trump’s second term, his administration has moved to repeal federal oversight plans for the Minneapolis Police Department – a move originally supported by Joe Biden’s administration.
Mr Sharpton believes Mr Trump and the Department of Justice have purposely timed this for the 5th Anniversary of Mr Floyd’s Death.
“It’s pouring salt on the wounds of those that were killed, and those that fought,” he said.
“I think Donald Trump and his administration is actively trying to reverse and revoke changes and progress made with policing based on the movement we created after George Floyd’s death, worldwide.”
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Mr Sharpton still supports George Floyd’s family and will be with them this weekend in Houston, Texas, where many of them will mark the anniversary.
He said the legacy of Mr Floyd’s death is still being written.
Evoking the civil rights movement of the 1960s he said: “The challenge is we must turn those moments into permanent movements, it took nine years from 1955 to 1964 for Dr [Martin Luther] King in that movement to get a Civil Rights Act after Rosa Parks sat in the front of a bus in Montgomery.
“We’re five years out of George Floyd, we’ve got to change the laws.
“We can do it in under nine years, but we can’t do it if we take our eye off the prize.”
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