(Headline USA) President Joe Biden bizarrely remarked over the weekend that his family was “disappointed” that his great-grandfather was not part of a violent mob that killed mine foremen, the Daily Mail reported.
During a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh on Monday, during which both Biden and Harris emphasized Democrats’ support for labor unions, Biden regailed the audience with a rambling tale about the Molly Maguires—a secret society, similar to the Ku Klux Klan, that terrorized protestants in the hills of Pennsylvania.
He expressed regret that his own ancestor, Edward Francis Blewitt, allegedly did not participate in the 19th-century crime syndicate, suggesting it was an early prototype for today’s organized labor.
“I remember when my great-grandfather was only the second Catholic elected statewide in the state Senate here in Pennsylvania,” Biden told attendees. “And I remember they talked about—when they’d run against him in 1906—they said, ‘Guess what? He’s a Molly Maguire.’”
The 81-year-old went on to explain that the violent group rose in response to anti-Catholic bigotry in the mines following a wave of immigration from Ireland in the mid-1800s.
“If they found out the foreman was taking advantage of an individual, they would literally kill him. Not a joke,” Biden said.
“And they would bring his body up and put him on the doorstep of his family,” Biden added. “Kind of crude, but I gotta admit—they accused my great-grandfather of being a Molly Maguire. He wasn’t, but we were so damn disappointed.”
After realizing the crowd was visibly confused, Biden added, “That was a joke. That was a joke.”
Later in his speech, Biden claimed former President Donald Trump doesn’t care about labor union workers—despite his having invited Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention.
“Do you think this guy gives a damn about your pensions,” Biden yelled. “I’m serious. Do you think he loses even in an instant asleep over it? Or thinks he cares about all the work you do every day?”
It’s unclear whether Biden himself lost sleep over labor union jobs during his extended vacation last week in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where the president has spent nearly 40% of his presidency.
Before his stay in Rehoboth Beach, the lame-duck leader had a separate six-day getaway at Democratic Party donor Joe Kiani’s California estate.
