BIDEN'S WACKY NAVAL GAZE
‘Lies’ & whispers unlikely stories to grads
President Biden revived his frequently ridiculed stage whisper Friday while addressing the US Naval Academy’s Class of 2022, stooping over his microphone to remind them: “I’m your commander in chief.”
Biden addressed the graduates for approximately 25 minutes during the outdoor ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.,
He told them he applied to the school in 1965 — but a quick check of his biography shows problems with the story.
Biden said he applied to Annapolis with a letter from thenDelaware Sen. J. Caleb Boggs, but the year he cited — 1965 — is the same year he graduated from the University of Delaware. The academy doesn’t offer graduate degrees.
“I was told the Class of ’72 is here. I was appointed to the academy in 1965 by a senator who I was running against in 1972 — never planned it that way. I wasn’t old enough to be sworn in. I was only 29 years old when I was running,” Biden said.
“He was a fine man. His name is J. Caleb Boggs,” the president went on. “I didn’t come to the academy because I wanted to be a football star. And you had a guy named [Roger] Staubach and [Joe] Bellino here. So I went to Delaware.”
“But all kidding aside,” Biden continued on Friday, “the best line of the debate was after it’s all over, the announcer, the questioner — who was a good guy, but supported my opponent, who was a good man as well, I might add — and he said, ‘Sen. Boggs, is there anything else you want to say?’ And he said, ‘Yes, just one thing.’ And he took the microphone. He said, ‘You know, Joe, if you accepted my commission to the — my appointment to the academy,’ he said, ‘you’d still have one year and three months’ active duty and I’d have no problems right now.’”
It’s unclear if Biden has told the story before, but it surprised political journalists who have covered his many campaigns and his presidency. Biden’s 2008 autobiography “Promises to Keep” does not mention the Naval Academy.
Biden also slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin over his 3-month-old invasion of Ukraine.
“The actions taken by Putin were an attempt to — to use my phrase — to Finlandize all of Europe, make it all neutral,” Biden said. “Instead, he NATO-ized all of Europe.”
Delivering a commencement address to more than 1,000 newly commissioned ensigns and second lieutenants, Biden said the Western response to Putin’s “brutal” war in Ukraine shows the world is aligning not on geography, “but in terms of values.”
Biden told graduates that while they will learn to fly the most advanced planes, staff cutting-edge ships and utilize novel technologies, “The most powerful tool that you’ll wield is our unmatched network of global alliances and the strength of our partnerships.”
The president told graduates that they will “defend the international rules of the road,” particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, where they will be called on to “ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and beyond.”