Joe Biden has been charged with yet another ‘anti-British’ insult after the ‘Beast’ waved the Irish flag in Dublin – but not the Union Jack in Belfast.
Critics said the appearance of the US president’s limousine was further evidence that he is not neutral in the tensions over the island of Ireland.
The armored vehicle carried the Stars and Stripes and the presidential standard on the hood during its brief visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
However, after Mr Biden – who often boasts of his Irish heritage – moved to the Republic on the same day, the country’s flag was proudly displayed.
He has also come under fire for saying that his distant relative, a rugby star, ‘beat the Black and Tans the hell’. That was a British auxiliary police force in the 1920s hated by the IRA – though the White House insists he just got them mixed up with the New Zealand All Blacks team.
Mr Biden, who wraps up his three-day tour of Ireland tonight, also posed for a selfie with Gerry Adams and chided the UK for not working more closely with Ireland on Brexit.
Former DUP leader Baroness Foster told GB News that the Beast’s flags seemed to be another signal of his stance on the British.
“I hope it’s not that he doesn’t recognize Northern Ireland’s cause within the UK, which is of course part of the Good Friday Agreement,” she said.
Lady Foster wondered why the president would “think of the Black and Tans when he talks about the All Blacks.”
“I think it has to do with his way of thinking about what happened in Ireland,” she said.
“He is not always even-handed in matters pertaining to Northern Ireland. I acknowledge he was diplomatic in Belfast when he spoke, but that was because he was giving a scripted speech.’
She added: “Joe Biden’s record has not been balanced and I think that should be acknowledged.”
The Beast had the Stars and Stripes and the presidential standard on his hood during his brief visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday
However, after Mr Biden – who often boasts of his Irish heritage – moved to the Republic, the country’s flag was proudly displayed
In a speech to the Irish parliament last night, again riddled with references to his origins, Mr Biden sought to ease tensions over the ‘Black and Tans’ episode.
In a speech to the Irish parliament last night, again riddled with references to his origins, Mr Biden sought to ease tensions over the ‘Black and Tans’ episode.
He became the fourth US president to address the Irish Parliament after Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy.
“People of Ireland, it’s so good to be back in Ireland,” Biden said, beginning his speech to applause after a comment in Irish, which translates as, “I’m home.”
“I only wish I could stay longer,” the US president added.
Cynics have suggested that Mr Biden’s many enthusiastic references to his Irish heritage during his visit are related to the impending US election campaign.
US officials have denied he is “anti-British” but were forced to issue a correction after Biden joked about “the Black and Tans” during a pub visit in County Louth.
Mr Biden said he wore a cloverleaf tie given to him by Irish rugby player Rob Kearney – a distant relative – and said approvingly that he had ‘beat the Black and Tans the fuck out’.
The Blacks and Tans were an auxiliary police force sent to Ireland in the 1920s to counter IRA extremism – pilloried in Republican anthem for their brutality.
The group was most notably mentioned in the pro-IRA song ‘Come Out, Ye Black And Tans’, which is still popular with Irish rebel bands.
The White House website attempted to smooth over the situation by clarifying its official record to refer to the All Blacks – the New Zealand rugby union team.
In a further effort to get past the queue, Mr Biden said in his address to the Irish Parliament: ‘I always have a little bit of Ireland around, even when I’m in Washington.
“In the Oval Office, I signed the Irish rugby team’s rugby ball, the ball the team played with when they beat the All Blacks in Dublin in 2021.”
The US president exaggerated the words “All Blacks” and offered a fist pump as he tried to laugh off his earlier blunder.
Returning to the main reason for his trip across the Atlantic – the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement – Mr Biden said: ‘Peace is precious. It still needs its champions. It still needs to be cherished.’
The Good Friday Agreement, the US president said, “also had a significant positive impact across the Republic of Ireland.”
Reflecting on his conversations with the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, he spoke of ‘how Ireland and the United States can work together with the United Kingdom and the European Union to support the people of Northern Ireland’.
“I think the UK should work more closely with Ireland on this,” the US president added in a message to London.
“Political violence must never again prevail on this island.”
Among those listening was former Republican leader Adams, who then posted a selfie of the pair together with the caption, “A President Biden Selfie.”
Biden will conclude his visit to the island of Ireland with a public speech in the city where some of his ancestors hail from.
He travels to the west of Ireland where he will deliver a speech at a cathedral in Ballina, Co Mayo, on Friday evening.
Before that, he will have a tour of the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, also in Co Mayo.
Knock Shrine is a Catholic pilgrimage site that has been visited by popes, most recently by Pope Francis in 2018.
Gerry Adams posted a selfie with Joe Biden last night after watching him address a joint session of the Irish Parliament
The US president’s speech contained many references to his proud Irish heritage
The US president tried to ease tensions over an earlier blunder when he mistakenly referred to the ‘Black and Tans’ instead of New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team
Mr. Biden will then visit the family history research unit of the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Center.
On Wednesday, the president visited Co Louth, where part of his family has been traced, and the visit to Co Mayo traces the other side of his family tree.
It is also believed that Mr Biden will make a private visit to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice in Castlebar, which is dedicated to his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015.
The visit will conclude in the town of Ballina, where Mr Biden will deliver a speech at St Muredach’s Cathedral.
Mr. Biden’s great-great-grandfather, Edward Blewitt, sold 27,000 bricks to the cathedral in 1827, which helped buy himself and his family tickets to sail to America decades later in 1851.