Former President Joe Biden mistakenly called a Syracuse University trustee “Barack” during a portrait unveiling ceremony. The incident happened when Biden, 83, returned to the Syracuse University School of Law. During his speech, he spotted a tall, slender African-American man sitting onstage and said, “Barack? What are you doing?” He then repeatedly said, “Come here,” urging the man to join him at the podium.
That man was Jeff Scruggs, who chairs Syracuse University’s Board of Trustees. Scruggs walked up to Biden, who then leaned into the microphone and said, “I feel like he should be standing to the right and I should be standing to the left.” According to the Daily Mail, he then added, “Doesn’t he look like Barack?” The audience and Scruggs himself laughed at the remark.
Many online commenters quickly called the interaction “cringe,” suggesting that Biden was playing into a stereotype of thinking all Black people look like former President Barack Obama. However, sources familiar with the matter said that backstage, Scruggs had told Biden that his daughter wanted him to ask Biden whether he resembled Obama. So what looked like a gaffe was actually a pre-planned, lighthearted moment between the two.
Biden’s history of verbal slip-ups has followed him well into retirement
Biden, who served as President until 2024, has had several notable verbal missteps throughout his career. In 2022, he famously asked, “Where’s Jackie?” referring to Representative Jackie Walorski, who had died in a car accident a month earlier. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tried to explain it by saying Walorski was “top of mind,” but the moment drew widespread attention.
Obama, for his part, has been largely absent from the political spotlight. He recently spoke out about hope in modern America while shutting down calls for him to run for a third term. In 2024, Biden made headlines again when he claimed his uncle had been eaten by cannibals during World War II. These incidents fueled public concern about his age, which was widely reflected in opinion polls at the time.
They also played a role in his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race after a poor debate performance against Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris replaced him as the Democratic nominee, but Trump won the election that November. Trump has consistently used questions about Biden’s mental fitness to attack him politically.
At a White House press conference, Trump claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “used to call Joe Biden a mentally r– person,” adding, “He was so nasty to Joe Biden it was terrible.” According to The Independent, North Korean officials have a long history of hurling insults at U.S. politicians. In 2023, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, called Biden “senile” after he warned about North Korean nuclear aggression.
Trump, 79, has frequently boasted about his own mental sharpness. During a March Cabinet meeting, he claimed to be the only president to have taken a cognitive exam, saying, “But I aced it. I got them all right.” Despite touting his “very nice” relationship with Kim Jong Un and mentioning “love letters” from the North Korean leader, Trump’s talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula went nowhere.
North Korea has continued missile tests, with the latest in late March 2025. Obama has also weighed in on the broader state of the Democratic Party, criticizing establishment Democrats for being out of touch with ordinary people. Since leaving office, Biden has been living a quieter life, flying commercial and riding Amtrak trains. He has continued to advise Democratic candidates and elected officials by phone.
He called Emily Gregory, the Democratic winner of a Florida state House district that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, the day after her victory. He also reached out to Texas state Representative James Talarico after Talarico won a Texas Democratic Senate race. Biden, who is currently being treated for Stage 4 prostate cancer, has not yet appeared at any campaign rallies ahead of the November midterms.
Published: Apr 15, 2026 03:18 pm