(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Disgraced former President Joe Biden on Tuesday awkwardly referred to a black man at a New York event as Barack Obama, the only black president in U.S. history.
Biden made the apparent comparison while unveiling his official portrait at Syracuse University College of Law when he singled out Jeffrey Scruggs, a black man and chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees.
“I always want to turn around to one guy and say … ‘Barack, what are you doing?’” Biden said from the podium while pointing to Scruggs.
The 46th president then urged Scruggs to stand and join him on stage, though Scruggs initially appeared reluctant.
Biden pulls a black guy at Syracuse University up to the podium, says he reminds him of Barack Obama:
“Doesn’t he look like Barack?” pic.twitter.com/qUxfer6TF1
— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) April 14, 2026
“Come here, come here, come here, come here … come here,” Biden added.
When Scruggs approached, Biden continued, “I feel like he should be standing on the right and I should be standing on the left.”
“Doesn’t he look like Barack?” Biden said of Scruggs. “As they say, you’ve done good, fella.”
Video of the moment quickly went viral, with critics pointing to Biden’s long history of racially insensitive remarks over his decades in public life.
Biden left office on Jan. 20, 2025, after being pushed out of the Democratic presidential ticket and replaced by then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who ultimately lost to President Donald Trump.
