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Former President Joe Biden raised eyebrows Tuesday at Syracuse University after making an awkward onstage remark comparing a Black member of the school’s Board of Trustees to former President Barack Obama.
Biden returned to his alma mater Tuesday to celebrate the unveiling of his portrait, which will be permanently displayed in the law school’s Law Library Reading Room.
Video shows Biden speaking at the podium, addressing the law school’s leadership by name before making the awkward joke.
“I always want to turn around to one guy and say.. ‘Barack what are you doing?” Biden said as the audience laughed.
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President Joe Biden speaks during an event in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2024. (Susan Walsh/AP)
He then motioned for the man off camera to join him on stage. The man is Jeffrey M. Scruggs, chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees.
“I feel like he should be standing on the right and I should be standing on the left,” Biden said as Scruggs and the audience laughed.
Commentators on social media debated the moment, with critics remarking that Biden, a well-known gaffe machine, was showing his age. Others defended the president, saying it was clearly a joke.
Biden’s following speech was personal and reflective, crediting family, classmates and mentors for his career while recounting how Syracuse Law shaped his belief in using the law to advance dignity, equality and democracy. He discussed his path from law student to public service through moments of national upheaval and personal tragedy, highlighted his late son Beau’s legacy, and described his commitment to “dignity, respect, fairness, equality.”
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In his closing remarks, Biden touched on his legacy and said he hoped he’d be remembered for his fight for democracy.
“As I began to build my presidential library and foundation, [I] hope to pass down to future generations a reverence for democracy,” Biden said. “And my classmates and I learned here at Syracuse because whatever, whatever my legacy may be, I hope will be said that I never stopped striving for the cause of democracy.”
Former President Barack Obama (L) and U.S. President Joe Biden shake hands during an event to mark the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on April 05, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“And I hope that long after I’m gone on future classes of Syracuse law students see the portrait and the reminder, not of me, but of the greatness and power of our democracy and of their obligation to do their part to preserve, protect, defend our Constitution,” Biden continued.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Office of Joe and Jill Biden for comment.