Boy, howdy, if old Joe Biden just isn’t the gaffe-gift that keeps on giving. The ex-president is 83 now, and he’s showing his age, not in a good way. He seems to grow slower and more befuddled by the day; it’s just a little sad that they keep trotting him out for carefully stage-managed appearances.
On Tuesday, speaking at Syracuse University School of Law, old Joe made what some observers pounced on as a major gaffe and possibly racist to boot, but here it’s important to do something Democrats never do – look at the matter fairly. Here’s what happened.
Former President Joe Biden spotted a familiar face on stage during his portrait unveiling at Syracuse University School of Law Tuesday and demanded the man join him at the podium in an awkward exchange.
“I always want to turn around to one guy and say … ‘Barack, what are you doing?’” Biden joked during the event at his alma mater.
The 83-year-old former president was referring to Jeffrey Scruggs, who is black and the chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, and apparently reminds Biden of the 44th president, Barack Obama.
Biden awkwardly put the spotlight on Scruggs and called for him to come up to the podium, despite the chairman’s apparent reluctance.
Here’s what people watching what would look to be a cringe-inducing moment don’t know: What happened before Mr. Biden spoke:
Scruggs reportedly told Biden backstage that his daughter wanted him to ask the former president if he looked like Obama. The onstage moment was meant to show the daughter that Biden believed that her dad did look like his ex-boss, the Daily Mail reported.
Several social media users agreed with Biden’s assessment, while some argued the moment was “racist.”
And, honestly, there is a certain resemblance between Mr. Scruggs and the 44th president. It’s not an uncanny one, but the two men do look broadly similar. And despite the hysterical screeching of the perpetually offended, there’s nothing racist about pointing out that one black man has a mild resemblance to another black man, when there objectively is such a resemblance.
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Of course, that doesn’t mean Joe Biden can’t be counted on to turn a perfectly normal speaking appearance into a cringe-fest. He can and did, including calling Mr. Scruggs up to the front of the stage, putting a spotlight on him that he clearly wasn’t too comfortable with, and pointing out a physical resemblance that was utterly irrelevant to what former President Biden was there to talk about. That and the mildly condescending “you done good, fella” was gaffe enough to round out the Biden Trifecta of Senseless Gaffes.
This entire incident, though, makes for a larger point, and it’s this: Honestly, the Biden family needs to start keeping old Joe indoors. He’s clearly no longer fit for public appearances, and the Biden family should acknowledge that, even if old Joe can’t quite grasp it. Old Joe should have retired for good and all after Donald Trump’s second inauguration (there’s an excellent argument to be made that he should have retired four years before that), and the family should use the big old Warner Brothers stage-hook thing to yank him out stage left.
Joe Biden should take a lesson from President Reagan and his thoughtful and gracious farewell to the American people. That’s how it’s done.
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