Joe Biden’s got jokes.
On Friday, President Biden made several Irish stereotype jokes while speaking at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon.
Biden, 80, is well-known for embracing and boasting about his Irish Catholic roots. Although it is unknown what percentage Irish the president is, his mother’s ancestors hail from County Mayo.
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But at the luncheon, Biden joked that he’s “not really Irish” because he doesn’t drink.
“I’m the only Irishman you’ve ever met though that’s never had a drink, so I’m not really Irish,” the president joked using a common stereotype that Irish people drink a lot of alcohol.
He also recalled the time he spent time in Ireland, learning about his heritage and meeting some of his extended family.
“I’ve been to Ireland many times, and not actually to look up, but to find my actual family members - and there are so many,” Biden said.
He then joked, “And they actually weren’t in jail.”
The lunch, hosted by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, was attended by the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
McCarthy, whose grandfather was Irish, also gave remarks during the luncheon where he used his Irish heritage to speak of a positive relationship with Biden in the future.
“President Biden, from one Irish American to another, I want to strive every day to live up to the example of President Reagan and Tip O’Neill,” McCarthy said.
The Speaker of the House said a “clash is brewing” between him and Biden and jokingly asked Taoiseach Varadkar “Which one of us is more Irish?”
Biden agreed with McCarthy, saying, “There's no reason we can't find common ground."
The Friends of Ireland is a bipartisan group formed in the 1980s to promote peace and unity in Northern Ireland.
For more than 40 years, the Friends of Ireland group invites the Irish Taoiseach to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the White House with a luncheon.
Biden added, “I, like all of you, take pride in my Irish ancestry. As long as I can remember it’s been a part of my soul, how I’ve been raised.”
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