White House Scrambles To Correct After Biden Confuses Rugby Team With Paramilitary Group | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Virginia Kruta.

    President Joe Biden was supposed to be engaging in a "charm offensive" in Ireland, but the White House was forced to clean up after he confused a famous rugby team from New Zealand with an Irish paramilitary group.

    During an appearance at the Windsor Pub in Dundalk on the first day of his trip, Biden apparently meant to reference the All Blacks - New Zealand's famous national rugby team - and instead said something about the Black and Tans.

    WATCH:

In yet another incoherent babble at an Irish pub Joe Biden speaks of his delight at Ireland beating the "hell out of the Black and Tans".He meant the All Blacks of New Zealand.The Black and Tans were a British unit during the 1919-21 Irish independence war.Utter embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/MBzCBOMVsG

— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) April 13, 2023

    "I'm so proud to be here, so proud to be in Louth, so proud to be with - I don't want to ruin their reputation, but - " and then Biden whispered "- the Kearneys are relatives."

    "And the closing comment I make: You see this tie I have with this shamrock on it? This was given to me by one of these guys right here. He was a hell of a rugby player, and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans. Oh, God," Biden continued, prompting laughter from the crowd.

    "But - but it was when you - or it's Solider Field. Wasn't it, the game?" Biden asked before continuing. "Chicago. And after it was all over, he gave my brother - allegedly for me, but if it wasn't, I still took it. I still got the tie. I wear it with great pride."

    The White House later corrected the transcript to show that Biden had meant to say the All Blacks - a point that was confirmed by White House official Amanda Sloan: "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."

    Biden is certainly well known for making the occasional gaffe when speaking in public - most of which are relatively benign - but this particular flub could cost him some goodwill when it comes to the British. The Black and Tans he invoked were English officers who were recruited to the Royal Irish Constabulary, fighting against the Irish Republican Army during Ireland's war for independence (1919-1921). In addition to earning a brutal reputation for themselves, the name Black and Tan was considered a pejorative.

    Irish comedian Oliver Callan was thoroughly amused, however, 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."

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