Joe Biden confuses All Blacks with Black and Tans during Ireland trip

Joe Biden confuses All Blacks with Black and Tans during Ireland trip | Joe Biden | The Guardian White House edits transcript after US president referred to military force rather than New Zealand rugby team

The All Blacks team

"The White House has corrected a gaffe by Joe Biden that confused New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team with the British military force known as the Black and Tans that terrorised Ireland.

"An official transcript of the remarks released on Thursday crossed out “Black and Tans” and inserted “All Blacks” instead.

"The US president made the slip during a speech in the Windsor pub in Dundalk on Wednesday night on the first day of his three-day visit to Ireland.

"Biden was thanking Rob Kearney, a distant cousin who played in an Irish rugby team that beat New Zealand, for the tie he was wearing. “This was given to me by one of these guys, right here. He was a hell of a rugby player. He beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.”

"Ireland’s rugby team won a famous victory against the All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016.". . . 

In Ireland, most commentary seemed to view it as funny and harmless. The Irish Times called it a “delicious gaffe”, while the Irish Mirror said Biden had left people “in stitches”. Twitter users called it a highlight of the trip. “A fantastic Freudian slip. Good lad Joe,” said one. . . .

Then there are the Black and Tans.   The real history behind The Black and Tans in Ireland (irishcentral.com)    "The Black and Tans were a force of Temporary Constables recruited to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary in maintaining control over the IRA during the Irish War of Independence. They were generally thought of as the scum of the British system - looking for British ex-soldiers turned psychopaths, turning them into an evil, murderous militia and releasing them from jails into Ireland.

"Not so, says author David Leeson. And a review of the book by Eunan O'Halpin in The Irish Times says it will open many eyes.". . ."Among the major surprises, I found while reading O'Halpin's review was that many of the Black and Tans were actually Irish-born and that regular British soldiers were far more likely to commit atrocities.

"He writes: "Leeson’s careful analysis of Black and Tan recruitment disposes of the widely altered charge that these temporary policemen were the sweepings of the British penal system. Rather, they were a miscellany of British and Irish ex-servicemen, almost none of whom had criminal records.' ". . .

White House edits transcript after US president referred to military force rather than New Zealand rugby team

Why You Should Never Order A Black And Tan In Ireland | VinePair  "It would seem pretty un-offensive to call the drink a Black and Tan since it’s, well, black. And tan. But as with “Irish car bomb,” though maybe less obviously, the term Black and Tan has a totally different connotation in Irish history. (fairly recent Irish history, at that) “Black and Tan” was the nickname given to the British paramilitary force “formed to suppress the Irish independence movement in 1920 and 1921.” They were mostly of ex-servicemen who’d served in World War I and they all wore khakis and dark shirts."