In the latest episode of “what embarrassing thing will Joe Biden say on camera”, the former president is getting blasted for what many are calling a racist dig at former President Barack Obama.
During his portrait unveiling at Syracuse University School of Law on Tuesday, Biden awkwardly spotted a familiar face on stage and asked him to join him at the podium.
“I always want to turn around to one guy and say … ‘Barack, what are you doing?’” Biden said.
The “Barack” Biden was referring to was a black man named Jeffrey Scruggs, who is the chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees.
Biden awkwardly put the spotlight on Scruggs and called for him to come up to the podium, despite the chairman’s apparent reluctance.
“Come here, come here, come here, come here … come here,” Biden repeatedly demanded, motioning for Scruggs.
“I feel like he should be standing on the right and I should be standing on the left,” Biden said, after Scruggs finally walked over laughing.
“Doesn’t he look like Barack?” Biden asked.
Scruggs shook his head and seemed uncomfortable.
“As they say, you’ve done good, fella,” Biden told Scruggs.
Scruggs responded, saying, “Well, you know, I try.”
Take a look at the cringe moment —
As awkward as that interaction was, insiders say it may have all been pre-planned.. but became a “senior moment” for Biden, who flubbed the execution.
According to a Daily Mail report, Scruggs reportedly told Biden backstage that his daughter wanted him to ask the former president if he looked like Obama.
The onstage moment was meant to show the daughter that Biden believed that her dad looked like his ex-boss, according to the report.
The moment quickly went viral on social media, and many users were divided.
Some users agreed with Biden’s assessment of Scruggs’ resemblance to Obama, while some argued the moment was “racist.”
“He does look like Barack though,” one X user argued. “The hair, the face shape, the suit.”
“Low key he does look like him!” another user chimed in.
Scruggs is a managing director at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he is head of the Public Sector and Infrastructure banking group within the Global Banking and Markets Division. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2008 as a managing director, according to his profile on the Syracuse University website.