Biden raises eyebrows by claiming cannibals 'ate' his uncle, White House fact-checks
File image of United States President Joe Biden.
United States President Joe Biden took the world by surprise and left the White House in the lurch after claiming that his unclewas most likely eatenby cannibals inPapua New Guineaduring World War II.
As reported by Western media outlets, 81-year-old Biden said that his uncle's planewas shot downover Papua New Guinea during World War II. He further emphasised how this place is known for cannibals.
The statement was made by Bidenwhile he was paying tribute to his uncle Ambrose Finnegan.Biden said his bodywas never foundand suspected that it was eaten by cannibals.
“My uncle, they called him – Ambrose, they called him Bosie, and he became an Army Air Corps, beforethe Air Force came along, he flew those single-engine planes as a reconnaissance over war zones. And he got 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,” said the president.
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White House reacts to President Biden's cannibalremarks
Clarifying Biden's statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday (April 18) accepted that Finnegan diedafter his plane crashed into the Pacific Oceanamid World War II, which implied that he was not eaten by cannibals.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Jean-Pierre said, “You saw the president, he was incredibly proud of his uncle’s service in uniform. You saw him at the war memorial. It was incredibly emotional and important to him."
“You saw him respond to all of you when asked about the moment yesterday and his uncle, who lost his life when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea," the spokesperson added.
What did the defence report say about Biden's uncle?
The claims made by Biden also fail to match the account published by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
As per the report, “For unknown reasons, this plane was forced to ditch in the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea. Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft's nose hit the water hard.”
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The report stated that no trace of lost crew members and missing aircraft was found by an aerial search party.
“Second Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Pennsylvania and served in Headquarters, Fifth Air Force. He was the passenger on this Havoc when it was lost. He has not been associated with any remains recovered from the area after the war and is stillunaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Finnegan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines,” read the report.
(With inputs from agencies)