President Biden made a happy occasion awkward Monday night after telling a White House guest to “hush up, boy” during an event marking the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr.
During the lively reception commemorating the end of Ramadan, Biden teased the audience with what he promised would be the “quickest speech I ever made in my life” ahead of scheduled 6 p.m. prayers.
But when an unidentified audience member continued to talk over him, the president’s mood turned.
“You want to come and make a speech?” the 80-year-old Biden asked the guest.
“‘Hush up, boy,’ as my mother would say.”
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The flashpoint came after the attendee had called out to Biden, “We also have the first federal judge — Muslim federal judge. The only one” after the president failed to recognize the jurist earlier in his remarks.
“Hey, Judge, how are you?” Biden dutifully replied.
“I don’t know why you wanted the job, man. I appoint all those federal judges, but, you know, thank you for serving. I’m not kidding.”
When the audience member who pointed out the judge kept talking, Biden fired back with his “hush up” admonition.
After rebuking the guest, Biden extolled Ramadan as “a time to slow down, reconnect, and remember what matters most.”
The president’s cheeky comeback drew laughs from the audience, but the exchange comes just a few months after Biden sparked controversy by referring to Maryland’s first black governor, Wes Moore, as “boy” in a speech.
“You got a hell of a new governor in Wes Moore, I tell ya,” Biden said before referencing Moore’s college football-playing days. “He’s the real deal, and the boy looked like he could still play. He got some guns on him.”
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