Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst was caught on a hot microphone appearing to mock President Joe Biden over his claim that his uncle was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during World War II, according to video footage circulating on social media.
While walking off the stage after a conference centered on the border crisis, Ernst was speaking with Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy when she took a jab at the president that was caught on the microphone. “Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals,” she said, according to the footage. (RELATED: ‘Gaffe After Gaffe After Gaffe’: Charles Payne Explodes At Panelist Over Biden’s ‘Frustrating’ Blunders)
HOT MIC: @SenJoniErnst to @SenJohnKennedy following the Senate GOP border press conference — “Bottom line, never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals.”
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/eb8mUGhc0r
— Joe Karwacki (@JoeKarwacki) June 4, 2024
Ernst’s joke appeared to reference remarks the president made in April while addressing a crowd at a Pennsylvania war memorial. Biden was discussing his uncle, Second Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., who he claimed was shot down over Papua New Guinea during the war. “They never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals for real in that part of New Guinea,” Biden said, according to a CBS News report.
The president’s comments offended the country’s Prime Minister James Marape, who accused Biden of denigrating the nation by characterizing its citizens as savages. “President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such,” he told The Associated Press.
Marape added, “World War II was not the doing of my people; however, they were needlessly dragged into a conflict that was not their doing.”
