It was a great party…
“Sleepy Joe’s” napping tendencies are starting to grate even the most liberal of fans. Guido leaves it to readers to determine what he was trying to get across here…
Former Democrat congressman Tom Suozzi, who is now running for his old New York seat again, has gone so far as to tell Biden to stay away from his district on his visit today: “I don’t think it would be helpful, just as I don’t think Donald Trump would be helpful to my opponent“. Meanwhile Trump is rubbing his hands with glee…
It looked like Joe Biden was about to make it through his trip to Belfast and Dublin entirely gaffe-free. Almost. That was until last night, when the US President congratulated his distant cousin, Irish rugby player Rob Kearney, on “beat[ing] the hell out of the Black and Tans“. A heck of an achievement considering the Black and Tans disbanded about a century ago.
The White House has quietly corrected the record in their official transcript, adding that the 80-year old leader of the free world actually meant the All-Blacks. For the benefit of Joe, the Black and Tans were British recruits sent to Ireland during the War of Independence. They had a habit of beating and torturing patriotic Irishmen who sought their country’s independence. The All-Blacks are New Zealand’s national rugby union team. To be fair to Biden, the Irish rugby team did give the All-Blacks an historic beating on their own soil for the first time last summer, dubbed the ”Disaster in Dunedin’ by local Kiwi media. The country practically went into a state of mourning, with the New Zealand flag outside their rugby ground even lowered to half-mast. Easy to confuse the two…
As the Irish Taoiseach welcomed the 2023 class of the Washington Ireland Program, some two decades after he served in the office of congressman Jack Quinn via the same program, Leo Varadkar said he believed he was looking at the leaders of the future, and urged them to enjoy the city which prepared him to begin the political career which has seen him twice lead his country. So far, so platitudinous.
The Taoiseach, on a rooftop just across a lawn from the US Capitol, joked about the fact that he interned in the last year of the Clinton presidency “when parents might have had cause for concern about what happened to interns” in the city. Varadkar made the comment just two hours after meeting Hillary, and after he had confirmed the Clintons would visit Northern Ireland next month to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which Bill Clinton was pivotal in securing. The Irish press has gone to town on the clanger.
Irish politicians value their US relationship dearly and always exploit St Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to visit the White House. Even more so with President Joe Biden self-identifying as Irish. He will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris. Which will see two people of Indian descent in positions of power meet to celebrate St Patrick’s Day!
Over at CPAC in Washington, the Trump base is preparing for war with the Republican establishment. Steve Bannon has identified Rupert Murdoch and Fox News as public enemy number one. This may confuse left-wingers who can’t distinguish between the different flavours of the right. Murdoch is in the Reagan / Thatcher tradition rather than the populist Trump camp with all the culture war craziness, foreign policy incoherence and protectionism. Bannon wants to at least neutralise Fox News’ Trump scepticism.
Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been whacked with a four-month jail sentence and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine for refusing to testify before Congress about the January 6th riots at the US Capitol Building. The judge did, however, rule that the sentence may not be imposed if Bannon appeals before 15th November. Bannon’s team have already suggested that’s exactly what they’ll do…
