Biden quotes Chinese Communist dictator who killed 80M people in address to Coast Guard cadets
President Joseph R. Biden shades his eyes to survey the the crowd during the 140th commencement exercises for the United States Coast Guard Academy Wednesday, May 19, 2021 in New London, Conn. (Sarah Gordon/The Day via AP)
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UPDATED 10:00 AM PT – Thursday, May 20, 2021
Joe Biden tried to get a few laughs during his first commencement address by quoting a Chinese communist leader. He’s now facing criticism for citing words by Mao Zedong in a speech before a class of Coast Guard cadets.
The Democrat’s remarks came Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s graduation ceremony in New London, Connecticut. He made the following statement while citing the founding father of the People’s Republic of China:
By Susan Jones | May 20, 2021 | 5:12am EDT
President Joe Biden uses his fingers to whistle during the US Coast Guard Academys 140th commencement exercises on May 19, 2021 in New London, Connecticut. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
(CNSNews.com) - President Joe Biden addressed graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut on Wednesday, beginning his speech with lots of joking references to life at the academy jokes intended to warm up his audience.
But it appears the effort fell rather flat. Several times, Biden told the graduates they could clap for his one-liners, some of which he fumbled.
Who told it best? Biden s flubbed Coast Guard graduation joke that left class groaning and was first cracked by REAGAN in 1988. and of course The Gipper landed the punchline!
Biden, 78, borrowed a line from Ronald Reagan during his speech to Coastguard graduates in New London, Connecticut, Tuesday
Biden tried to crack a joke about the Coast Guard being the the hard nucleus around the Navy forms in times of war
But he appeared to flub his lines, and nobody laughed, prompting him to say: You are a really dull class
Observers pointed out that Ronald Reagan made the same joke in 1988, aged 77, when he addressed the Coast Guard graduation
He was busy butchering a quote from the teleprompter, saying how the Coast Guard is “the hard nucleus around the Navy form in times of war.” That’s not quite the line, but they understood what he was trying to say. Still, they didn’t clap, and Biden took offense.
Ironically, Vice President Dick Cheney quoted the same line properly, this time back in 2008 at the same Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony. According to the transcript from the speech, he was met with applause following the quote. We can assume based on Biden’s track record of plagiarizing past speeches that he pulled his quote from that speech and expected the same applause that Cheney received.
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