President Biden told graduating midshipmen at the Naval Academy on Friday that he had applied to the school in 1965, but a quick check of his biography revealed problems with history.
Biden said he applied to Annapolis in a letter from then-Delaware Sen. Jay Caleb Bogs, but the year he cited – 1965 – was the same year he graduated from the University of Delaware. The academy does not offer diplomas.
“I was told that class ’72 was here. I was appointed to the academy in 1965 by a senator I fought against in 1972 – I never planned it that way. I was not old enough to take the oath. “I was only 29 when I ran,” Biden said.
“He was a good man. His name is J. Caleb Boggs, “the president continued. “I didn’t come to the academy because I wanted to be a football star. And you had a name [Roger] Schaubach and [Joe] Belino here. So I went to Delaware. “
President Biden speaks at the graduation and commissioning ceremony of the US Navy on Friday. AP Midshipman celebrates graduation and commissioning.REUTERS
Belino and Staubach are the only two Navy players to win the Heisman Trophy as the best college footballers in America. Belino won the award in 1960, while Staubach did so in 1963.
“But the joke aside,” Biden continued on Friday, “the best line of debate was after it was over. he said, “Sen. Bogs, do you have anything else you want to say? And he said, “Yes, just one thing.” And he picked up the microphone. He said, “You know, Joe, if you accept my order in my appointment at the academy,” he said, “you will have an active service of one year and three months and I will have no problems at the moment.”
It is unclear whether Biden has told the story before, but that surprised political journalists who covered his numerous campaigns and his presidency. Biden’s 2008 autobiography “Promises of Observance” does not mention the Naval Academy.
Midshipman celebrates receiving his diploma.REUTERS
White House and academy spokesmen did not respond immediately to The Post’s request for additional information.
The U.S. military was heavily involved in the Vietnam War until the mid-1960s, and if Biden had attended the academy, he would have had to serve in the Navy after graduation.
Biden received five student deferrals during his four years at the University of Delaware and the next three years at the College of Law at the University of Syracuse.
After Biden graduated in law in 1968, he was reportedly considered unfit for military service, citing childhood asthma. His memoirs do not mention his condition while describing his football exploits or his work as a savior. A report released by his doctor in November also made no mention of asthma.
Biden has a habit of trying to connect with his audience by sharing questionable anecdotes about his personal experience – as well as making false or exaggerated claims.
In September, Biden told Jewish leaders that he remembered “spending time in” and “going” to the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh after the massacre of 11 people in 2018. The synagogue said he had never visited and The White House later said it was thinking of making a phone call to the synagogue rabbi in 2019.
Biden said he applied to Annapolis in a letter from then-Delaware Sen. J. Caleb Boggs. REUTERS A newly appointed Navy officer celebrates. REUTERS
About two weeks later, Biden told an Idaho audience that his “first job offer” came from a local timber and wood business, Boise Cascade. The company said it was news to them and Biden had not previously expressed interest in moving to the state.
In January, Biden told students at historic black colleges in Atlanta that he had been arrested during civil rights protests – for which there is also no evidence.
In perhaps the most scandalous example, Biden claimed in 2020 that he “had the great honor of being arrested” in South Africa when he “tried to see [Nelson Mandela] of Robens [sic] An island where Mandela was imprisoned until 1990. He said Mandela thanked him for that. Biden later admitted that this was not true.
Biden dropped out of his first presidential campaign in 1988 over a scandal involving speech plagiarism and a law school paper and controversy over claims he made about his academic record.
Midshipmen take their oaths in the Navy during the graduation and commissioning ceremony of the US Navy.REUTERS
Critics of the president have often accused the 79-year-old of mental decline. In a speech Friday, the president said “North Korea” when he meant “South Korea”, listing supporters of US sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
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