(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The White House is standing behind President Joe Biden amid the backlash ignited by the unsubstantiated claim that his uncle, Ambrose Finnegan, was eaten by cannibals in New Guinea.
On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sharply rebuked Fox News journalist Peter Doocy for pressing her on Biden’s unfounded statements regarding cannibalism, which Biden has repeated while recounting his uncle’s death in World War II.
“We should not make jokes about this,” Jean-Pierre told Doocy after he lobbed questions about why Biden is claiming, without evidence, that Finnegan was eaten by Cannibals.
As seen in a video by the Media Research Center, an undeterred Doocy pushed back, saying, “President Biden said it.”
Doocy: “And I agree. Second Lieutenant Ambrose Jake Finnegan was a war hero. But the Pentagon says, for unknown reasons, the plane was forced to ditch in the ocean and both engines failed at low out — altitude. Why is President Biden saying he was shot down? There’s no evidence… pic.twitter.com/MinnEzrk07
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 19, 2024
In response, Jean-Pierre clarified: “Wait, wait—no, no. I mean—your last line is for a laugh. It’s for a funny statement. He takes this very seriously. His uncle who served and protected this country lost his life serving, and that should matter.”
In line with previous responses to other questions, Jean-Pierre brought former President Donald Trump into the conversation.
“You have a president who looks up our U.S. troops, our American veterans, who thinks about them. who actually think they’re all heroes,” she added, “and you have a former president who disrespects that, who doesn’t honor that. He said it as president: ‘suckers’ or ‘losers.’” No evidence has emerged to substantiate such claims, which were initially reported by The Atlantic.
Doocy’s inquiries stemmed from Biden’s remarks about his uncle during campaign appearances in Pennsylvania ahead of the state’s Democratic primary election.
“He got shut down in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be… There were a lot of cannibals in the part of New Guinea,” Biden stated, referring to his uncle, during a speech to members of the United Steelworkers union.
Biden’s got a new story about Uncle Bosey being shot down and eaten by cannibals…
No one believes this shit, right? pic.twitter.com/iBSwrlUrOn
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) April 17, 2024
Biden reiterated the same assertions while addressing reporters in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Biden, for the third time in less than 24 hours, tells the dubious story about his “Uncle Bosey” and “a lot of cannibals” in New Guinea before repeating the debunked “suckers and losers” hoax.
He also claims D-Day was on a Sunday (it was on a Tuesday).
HE IS NOT WELL. pic.twitter.com/iqeOjjFY0v
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 17, 2024
According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Biden’s uncle passed away on May 14, 1994, when his plane unexpectedly crashed into the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea. His body was never recovered.
