President Biden’s Latest Blunder: Confusing New Zealand’s All-Blacks Rugby Team with Infamous Brutal Police Force
Written by A.M. Ray aka Jamm on April 24, 2023
President Joe Biden made a blunder during his visit to Ireland on Wednesday as he confused a rugby team with a controversial 1920s-era British police force.
Biden was speaking at the Windsor Bar in Dundalk, Ireland, when he mistook New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team with the Black and Tans, a brutal force deployed against rebels during the Irish War of Independence.
The Black and Tans were officers recruited to bolster Royal Irish Constabulary numbers during the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence. Many of them gained a violent reputation.
White House official Amanda Sloat later defended Biden’s blunder, saying: “I think for everyone in Ireland who was a rugby fan, it was incredibly clear that the president was talking about the All Blacks and Ireland’s defeat of the New Zealand team.” CNN
However, he did not avoid ridicule on social media, with Irish comedian Oliver Callan tweeting: “The greatest gift Ireland wanted from Joe Biden was a signature gaffe. And be the holies didn’t he just go and give us one for the century.”
The greatest gift Ireland wanted from Joe Biden was a signature gaffe. And be the holies didn't he just go and give us one for the century. Musha musha macushla #BlackAndTans #AllBlacks #BidenVisit #Dundalk https://t.co/YgffXkZI68
— Oliver Callan (@olivercallan) April 12, 2023
History of blunders Wednesday’s slip of the tongue marks the latest in a string of public mishaps made by the president, who once described himself as a “blunder machine.”
Speaking at a White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022, Biden tried to acknowledge the presence of Rep. Jackie Walorski – despite the fact that the Indiana Republican had died in a car accident in early August. The Washington Post
In April 2022, Biden confused audiences when he appeared to shake hands with thin air after delivering a speech in Greensboro, North Carolina. Footage of the incident went viral online.
The man who has access to the nuclear button appears to shake hands with thin air
— Press TV (@PressTV) April 15, 2022
US President Joe Biden was left empty-handed as he appeared to shake hands with thin air after his speech. pic.twitter.com/0nhS6QCpY5
Biden – who has Irish roots and has been touted as the most “Irish of Americans to sit in the Oval Office since John F. Kennedy” – has been trying to set the right tone during his four-day visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Biden arrived in Belfast late on Tuesday. He traveled south on Wednesday to the Irish Republic, where he is carrying out personal engagements including stops in County Louth and County Mayo to explore his family roots.
