Mr Biden has a history of referring to African Americans as ”boy”.
Gaffe-prone US President Joe Biden on Saturday made another blunder when he called popular rapper LL Cool J a ”boy” after mispronouncing his name during the Congressional Black Caucus. According to the New York Post, LL Cool J, whose birth name is James Todd Smith, and MC Lyte received Phoenix Awards for their musical contributions at the annual ceremony in Washington DC.
”Two of the great artists of our time representing the groundbreaking legacy of hip hop in America , LL Jay Cool J, uhhh…” he said in his speech. ”By the way that boy — that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs,” Mr Biden added. The president, however, quickly corrected himself.
Watch the video here:
BIDEN: “LL J Cool J, uhh, by the way, that boy’s got— that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs” pic.twitter.com/ulCQRkEp0l
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 24, 2023
Notably, Mr Biden has a history of referring to African Americans as ”boy”. The term is considered a racial epithet when used to describe black men. Earlier, this year, he referred to Maryland Governor, Wes Moore, who is Black, as a “boy” during his speech, as per Fox News.
Internet users were quick to call him out over the blunder and trolled him to no end.
One user wrote, ”Joe Biden calls LL Cool J ‘boy’ . I think his mind is stuck in the 60s.” Another commented, ”Ohhh god make it stop PLEASE. he’s making a total mockery of this country.”
A third said, “Joe Biden’s racism rears it’s ugly head again. Calling a full-grown black man a boy is seen as racist. Will the Media hold Joe Biden accountable for being racist?” A fourth added, ”Slave owners called their slaves “boy”. Biden does it constantly.”
”The way the crowd groaned. @POTUS was oblivious. Pure cringe,” yet another added.
This follows a series of gaffes Mr. Biden has made in the recent past. In July, he made a similar blunder when he confused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Russian President Putin and referred to him as “Vladimir”.
During his 2022 State of the Union address, he mistakenly referred to “Ukrainians” as “Iranians”, while he was speaking about how Russian President Putin had invaded the country.
According to a Reuters report, public opinion polling shows that a majority of Americans have concerns about his age. However, the president’s doctor declared him healthy and “fit for duty” in February after a physical examination.