‘Lost for words’: Joe Biden’s tale about cannibals bemuses Papua New Guinea residents
GuardianApr 19
Biden Suggests 'Cannibals' Ate His Uncle in Papua New Guinea
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The Facts
During a speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Pres. Joe Biden said his Uncle Ambrose J. Finnegan, who died in World War II, was "shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be... a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea."
Though Biden claimed "Uncle Bosie," who he said flew single-engine reconnaissance planes during the war, was eaten by cannibals after his plane was shot down, official records suggest the plane had experienced engine failure before crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Some may claim Biden is a liar, for which there's a good bit of evidence, but the reason he made such an outlandish statement this time is his cognitive decline. Even when reading from a teleprompter, Biden often struggles to understand the words written for him. The man in charge of whether or not to go to war shouldn't face these difficulties.
Democratic narrative
Biden is neither a liar nor mentally ill — the president, who is incredibly proud of his family's military history, just misspoke. What's truly remarkable is that those who make such erroneous accusations against Biden are the same ones who defend Trump — who they describe as mentally sharp — when he purposely rags on fallen American heroes.
