The White House plays down Biden’s rugby misstep in Ireland – WhatsNew2Day

The White House on Thursday played cleanup on President Joe Biden’s misstep when he jammed the Black and Tans, a British force that brutally cracked down on Irish rebels in the 1920s, with New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team.

“I think everyone in Ireland was a rugby fan, it was incredibly clear that the president was talking about the All Blacks and Ireland’s defeat of Team New Zealand in 2016,” said Amanda Sloat, senior director of national security in Europe. during a morning briefing.

The slide had threatened to overshadow Biden’s cross-border activities the day before, when he had to walk a fine line to keep Northern Ireland’s Protestant and Catholic communities happy.

But the reference to the hated British power soon fanned the flames of the pro-London Unionists in the north.

The White House even cleaned up the official transcript of the event at a restaurant in Dundalk, Co. Louth, crossing out the words “Black and Tans.”

The White House put out a corrected version Wednesday night

He read his commentary log about his cousin Rob Kearney, part of a team that beat New Zealand in Chicago in 2016: ‘He was a rugby player from hell, he beat hell from (the All Blacks).

In fact, he claimed, in ribbed comments, that Kearney had beaten the Black and Tans.

The Black and Tans were a British auxiliary security force deployed during the Irish War of Independence a century earlier.

They were notorious for their brutality against Republicans, Catholics, and anyone else who got in their way.

The force was responsible for shooting 14 people and wounding 60 others at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park in Dublin in 1920.

Biden has spoken of learning stories about their notoriety from his anti-British great-aunt Gertie.

His slip of the tongue was quickly taken as another sign that Biden harbors animosity toward the United Kingdom.

It almost took the shine off a decent day’s work for Biden. He arrived in Belfast in the midst of a political impasse, with unionists concerned that such a pro-Ireland president did not understand their position.

Biden is meeting the distant cousins ​​inside the Windsor bar and restaurant on Wednesday night

Biden’s motorcade leaves Carlingford, Co Louth Wednesday afternoon

Instead, he used a speech at the University of Ulster to talk about his British roots and say that politics in Northern Ireland was a matter for the people of Northern Ireland.

“We’ve had incredibly positive feedback from all the communities and political parties out there,” said Sloat.

I think it’s a really important message for the President to be able to get across to the people of Northern Ireland.

White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said Biden “had the best time of his life” later in the day when he crossed the border and met up with relatives in Co Louth.

Thursday is the official business day: meetings with the Irish President and Prime Minister, followed by an address to the Irish Parliament.

This makes him the fourth president to address a joint session of the Irish Parliament after Kennedy in 1963, Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Bill Clinton in 1995.

Officials said the speech would focus on “American cooperation to advance democracy, peace, security, and prosperity, as well as the deep shared history between the United States and Ireland.”

This will be followed by a state dinner at Dublin Castle.

Friday is the most family time. Biden will travel west to see the family in Palina, May, and address an expected crowd of about 20,000 people.

Biden’s maternal line immigrated from Ireland during the Great Famine. The Blewitts left the Mayo Company and settled in Scranton, PA, while the Finnegans left Co Louth and came to New York