Biden jokes wife Jill may go to Native reservation and ‘not come home’
WASHINGTON — President Biden joked to a crowd of Native Americans Wednesday that he fears first lady Jill Biden may leave him to live on a reservation — the latest awkward moment for the commander-in-chief.
“I’m worried she’s not going to come home one of these days when she goes,” Biden told attendees of the Interior Department-hosted White House Tribal Nations Summit.
“You think I’m joking,” the president continued. “I’m telling you, I hear more about the Navajos than I hear about me. Y’all think I’m kidding, don’t you?”
The groan-worthy crack from the 80-year-old Biden attracted online mockery.
“The Grandpa Simpson monologues are great,” wrote one Twitter user, referring to the senile family elder from the cartoon TV series “The Simpsons.”
Some critics found the remark to be culturally insensitive.
One social media user exclaimed, “This is what racism actual is, people. WOW!” “That offended me and I’m not even native,” wrote another.
Biden has previously caused listeners’ jaws to drop while attempting to make jokes involving the first lady.
In May, the president said at a Cinco de Mayo celebration that “I sleep with a teacher every night.” When his audience awkwardly laughed, he added: “Same one. The same one.”
