The latest gaffe-filled speech from President Joe Biden featured him confusing his wife’s father for her grandfather, making an implausible claim of how his uncle was awarded the Purple Heart, and greatly exaggerating how many trips he made to Iraq and Afghanistan. President Biden also struck a nerve in the same speech when he denigrated Irish people.
Biden delivered a speech to U.S. veterans during a town hall event on Friday in New Castle, Delaware.
Biden praised 102-year-old World War II veteran Ray Firmani for flying 25 missions over Germany. Firmani responded, “Thank you so much.”
Then Biden inexplicably and incorrectly delved into his family’s heritage.
The 80-year-old Biden told Firmani, “Thank you. I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.”
President Biden continued, “I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter. So, you know, I got a little Italian in me now, you know?”
However, Jill Biden’s father is Donald Carl Jacobs from Hammonton, New Jersey. Jill’s grandfather is Domenic Giacoppo – who is a second-generation immigrant from Italy.
Jill’s mother is Bonny Jean Godfrey, who is of English and Scottish descent. Jill’s grandmother Mabel Sarah Blazer is of German descent.
Some reactions on Twitter declared Biden’s comment about the Irish to be demeaning.
Daily Signal senior reporter Mary Margaret Olohan decried Biden’s remarks as a “hate crime” against Irish people.
Washington Examiner investigative reporter Jerry Dunleavy explained, “Biden loves this Bidenism (he’s said it in the past before) — just casual old school anti-Irish stereotyping, but he thinks it’s a fun part of his gift of the gab because he considers himself Irish (his great-great-great grandfather moved to America from Ireland in the 1800s.).”
Businessman Eoghan McCabe tweeted, “Irishman here. I feel neutral because I think he actually is stupid.”
Biden made the exact same disparagement about the Irish as well as confusing Jill Biden’s grandfather and father on St. Patrick’s Day in March.
Also during Friday’s speech, Biden made a gaffe or outright lied about how his uncle received the prestigious Purple Heart award.
Biden told the American veterans:
You know, I — my dad, when I got elected Vice President, he said, “Joey, Uncle Frank fought in the Battle of the Bulge.” He was not feeling very well now — not because of the Battle of the Bulge. But he said, “And he won the Purple Heart. And he never received it. He never — he never got it. Do you think you could help him get it? We’ll surprise him.”
So we got him the Purple Heart. He had won it in the Battle of the Bulge. And I remember he came over to the house, and I came out, and he said, “Present it to him, okay?” We had the family there.
I said, “Uncle Frank, you won this. And I want to… He said, “I don’t want the damn thing.” (Laughter.) No, I’m serious. He said, “I don’t want it.’ I said, “What’s the matter, Uncle Frank? You earned it.” He said, ‘Yeah, but the others died. The others died. I lived. I don’t want it.”
However, Biden’s father, Joseph R. Biden Sr., died on Sept. 2, 2002. Joe Biden officially became vice president on Jan. 20, 2009.
Frank Biden died in 1999.
The New York Post reported, “Frank Biden’s tombstone does not identify him as a Purple Heart honoree, nor does his obituary. A partial registry of known Purple Heart recipients also doesn’t note anyone by that name receiving the award, though that database is not comprehensive.”
Forbes reported, “There doesn’t appear to be any record of Biden giving his uncle the honor—the president hasn’t mentioned the story in the past, there have been no news articles written about it and Frank Biden’s name does not appear on a list of recipients held by the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, though the list is incomplete.”
Biden also greatly exaggerated how many times he has visited Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Daily Mail noted that Biden was last in Iraq in 2016, and last visited Afghanistan in 2011. Biden has not visited Afghanistan or Iraq as president.