WORLD

It’s ‘The Joe Show’ as Biden closes out Ireland visit

Apr 13, 2023, 9:28 PM | Updated: Apr 14, 2023, 4:36 pm

President Joe Biden speaks at the Windsor Bar and Restaurant in Dundalk, Ireland, Wednesday, April ...

President Joe Biden speaks at the Windsor Bar and Restaurant in Dundalk, Ireland, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BALLINA, Ireland (AP) — Quoting Irish poetry and soaking up the cheers of thousands, President Joe Biden on Friday pronounced Ireland not just part of his family history but part of his soul as he wrapped up a trip that gave him the kind of adoration that eludes him back in the U.S.

Roughly 27,000 people gathered at the foot of St. Muredach’s Cathedral, constructed in part with bricks made by Biden’s great-great-great grandfather. Biden drew a crowd that was more than double the size of the town’s population — some drove from hours away and waited nearly all day in the rain and cold for a chance to see him, calling out for “the Joe show” to begin.

“Over the years, stories of this place have become part of my soul,” Biden told the massive crowd, associating himself with those in the audience by speaking of “we Irish” and talking of a “part of my family lore.”

It’s no wonder he said repeatedly during his trip that he didn’t want to leave.

Back home, Biden’s approval rating is near the lowest point of his presidency. And even some fellow Democrats have suggested he shouldn’t run for reelection. On trips within the U.S. to discuss his economic and social policies, Biden often gets a smattering of admirers waving as he drives by, and friendly crowds do applaud his speeches. But the reception doesn’t compare with the welcome he got here in the old sod.

Here, he was greeted by fans at every turn. The streets of Ballina teemed with people holding Irish and U.S. flags, lining up for blocks and blocks along the narrow streets. While Biden toured a Catholic shrine earlier in the day and was briefed on his ancestors at a heritage center, musicians and dancers entertained the massive crowd for hours. A cheer burst from the crowd as his helicopter arrived overhead.

“Being here does feel, it feels like coming home,” Biden said. “It really does.”

Even though Biden hasn’t officially launched his 2024 presidential run, his speech on Friday evening had the feel of a campaign rally. Dozens of people stood behind him on risers with flags, spotlights swept across the night sky and huge video screens beamed his image over a river where throngs were watching. U2’s “Beautiful Day” played as the president ended his 20-minute speech.

“This is just a fantastic occasion for us all, for an American president to be here in Ballina,” said Howard Tracy, 52, who waited with his 13-year-old son Adam nearly all day.

It’s a dynamic that most of Biden’s predecessors also have experienced: The world abroad tends to love American presidents. Back home, not always. Not so much.

U.S. presidents’ overseas trips often offer a backdrop and substance that are difficult to replicate on home turf. Biden’s Ireland trip was heady with nostalgia, fellowship, religion and poetry — the grand sweeping hills and cozy towns fitting just such a mood.

Biden referenced many a poet on his trip, but one in particular was particularly meaningful to him on Friday — that of his great grandfather Edward Francis Blewitt, who grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after the Blewitts arrived in the U.S.

“From the fairest land, except my own,” Biden read. “Neath sun, star, and moon, the citadel of liberty, my mother’s land, aroon.”

Ballina resident Orla Heffernan, who couldn’t get into Biden’s speech site but watched on a video screen from an overflow area on the street, exclaimed of president’s visit, “Absolutely unreal. So proud to be from Ballina. So proud of Joe Biden, so proud of the Blewitts.”

Earlier in his four-day trip, Biden met in Northern Ireland with leaders marking the gave last rites to his late son, Beau. And he was loaded down with gifts, including a signed poetry book and a brick from his ancestral home.

“He can feel the love in a way that’s hard to do at home,” presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said. “There’s something about an American president being in your country that makes a nation’s press and public go gaga.”

“With the exception of the pope, the American president is usually the most coveted global figure,” Brinkley said.

Indeed, during Biden’s Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

With the castle lit in the colors of the Ukrainian flag behind him, Biden declared to a rapt audience, “Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever.” As he exited the stage, he paused one more time to take in the scene, and a man in the audience bellowed out: “You’re our hero!”

When Biden spoke to the Canadian parliament in March, the chamber broke into applause 34 times. In a country in which English and French are spoken, Biden produced a thunderous round of clapping by simply opening his speech with “Bonjour, Canada.”

Even in Ireland, though, the acclaim was not universal. The small left-wing party People Before Profit said it would boycott Biden’s speech to parliament because of opposition to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.

People Before Profit lawmaker Paul Murphy said the president’s trip was being “treated as a visit by an interesting Irish-American celebrity, as opposed to a visit of the most powerful person in the world who needs to be asked hard questions about the kinds of policies that he is pursuing.”

Biden is far from the only U.S. president to find appreciation abroad that seems more elusive at home.

Bill Clinton found refuge overseas from the investigations pressing in on him at home. In his last year in office, George W. Bush was about as well liked at home as Richard Nixon right before he resigned in scandal, according to the Pew Research Center, but he remained popular in Africa, where he boosted foreign aid and battled the AIDS epidemic.

The Irish response to Biden, though, was overwhelmingly positive for “Cousin Joe,” as many have called him. On his first day, he toured County Louth, pausing at Carlingford Castle, which could well have been the last Irish landmark that Owen Finnegan, his maternal great-great-grandfather, saw before sailing for New York in 1849. As the U.S. president gazed at the sea, thousands cheered to him from the streets below, mixing with the sound of bagpipes that wafted from the green hills.

“I don’t know why the hell my ancestors left here,” Biden said. “It’s beautiful.”

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Chris Megerian, Josh Boak and Zeke Miller in Washington, and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

World

Associated Press

Stock market today: World shares are mostly higher after S&P 500 sets another record

BANGKOK (AP) — European shares opened higher after a mixed trading session in Asia on Thursday following another record close for the S&P 500. Germany’s DAX added 0.1% to 18,500.63. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.4% to 8,240.07. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,957.26. The future for the S&P 500 […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

U.S. congressional delegation pledges continued defense support for Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation pledged continued support for Taiwan on Thursday, days after Congress approved $300 million in military aid for the self-governed island that’s claimed by China. Congress also approved $400 million on Saturday to counter the Chinese government’s influence in the region, as part of its Defense Appropriations […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Greek police clash with demonstrators protesting a concert by US military cadets

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Greece clashed late Wednesday with Communist-backed demonstrators who tried to prevent a concert by U.S. military cadets. The violent protest occurred in the central Greek city of Larissa ahead of a concert by members of the West Point Glee Club, a musical group of the U.S. Military Academy which […]

12 hours ago

Associated Press

Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill 16, militant rockets kill 1 Israeli as cross-border violence soars

HEBBARIYE, Lebanon (AP) — A series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed 16 people and a barrage of rockets fired by the militant group Hezbollah killed one Israeli man, making Wednesday the deadliest day in more than five months of fighting along the border. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, concerns […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

Stock market today: World shares are mixed after Wall Street retreats from all-time highs

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Wednesday after Wall Street slipped a bit further from its record highs. Germany’s DAX added 0.5% to 18,467.35 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, at 8,202.64. In London, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% to 7,907.24. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.4% while […]

1 day ago

Associated Press

With its soldiers mired in Gaza, Israel fights a battle at home over drafting the ultra-Orthodox

JERUSALEM (AP) — As Israel battles a prolonged war in Gaza, broad exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men have reopened a deep divide in the country and rattled the government coalition, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fellow War Cabinet members staunchly opposed to his proposed new conscription law. By the end of the […]

2 days ago

It’s ‘The Joe Show’ as Biden closes out Ireland visit