MEAWW.COM / NEWS / POLITICS

Internet trolls Joe Biden as president butchers LL Cool J's name and refers to him as 'boy'

The Thursday, September 21 incident raised concerns over Joe Biden's use of the term when referring to African Americans

WASHINGTON, DC: In a speech delivered to the Congressional Black Caucus during their 52nd Annual Legislative Conference, President Joe Biden made headlines once again for a controversial remark involving rapper LL Cool J. The President mistakenly butchered LL Cool J's name and referred to him as "boy" before correcting himself.

The Thursday, September 21 incident raised concerns over Biden's use of the term "boy" when referring to African Americans and his history of similar remarks.

LL Cool J -- whose real name is James Todd Smith -- and MC Lyte were being honored with the Phoenix Award for their significant contributions to the world of hip hop.

Yet another gaffe by Joe Biden

During his speech, President Biden stumbled over LL Cool J's name, saying, "Two of the great artists of our time representing the groundbreaking legacy of hip hop in America, LL Jay Cool J, uhhh…," eliciting laughter from the audience.

As the crowd chuckled, President Biden added, "By the way that boy — that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs," before quickly acknowledging MC Lyte as the crowd applauded.

The awkward moment, while seemingly brushed aside, did not escape the watchful eye of RNC Research, who quickly shared a clip of the gaffe on social media.

The swift dissemination of the clip on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) led to a barrage of reactions from social media users.

"Ohhh god make it stop PLLLEASE. he's making a total mockery of this country," one posted.

"That 'boy' has bigger biceps than my thighs. He corrects his racist mistake, calling him a man. Yikes," another offered.

"Funny they thought he was joking when he messed up the name. He was dead serious," someone else wrote.

"Joe's racism is showing again…. Time to go back to the basement for a week or two," another quipped. 

A troubling pattern for Joe Biden

This is not the first time President Biden has used the term "boy" in reference to African Americans, and it has sparked controversy before.

In an earlier incident this year, Biden used the word when referring to Maryland's first black governor, Wes Moore, stating, "You got a hell of a new governor in Wes Moore, I tell ya." He continued, "He's the real deal, and the boy looked like he could still play. He's got some guns on him."

Similarly, in May of the same year, he told a White House attendee to "hush up, boy" during an event celebrating Eid-al-Fitr. This remark was made when an audience member, believed to be a Muslim man, interrupted the President.

"You want to come and make a speech?" Biden said after he was heckled. "Hush up, boy, as my mother would say," he added, mimicking a Southern drawl. 

These incidents have not gone unnoticed by the public, and they highlight a pattern in President Biden's language that has drawn criticism.

In 2019, while on the campaign trail, President Biden made a similar slip-up when he mentioned working with James Eastland, a Mississippi senator and plantation owner known for his white supremacist views. Biden claimed that Eastland never called him "boy" but always referred to him as "son."

Senator Cory Booker, who is black, spoke out against Biden's use of the term "boy," calling it inappropriate. "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys,'" he told CNN.

Booker later mentioned having a constructive conversation with Biden regarding the use of such language. "This is about him invoking a terrible power dynamic that he showed a lack of understanding or insensitivity to by invoking this idea that he was called ‘son’ by white segregationists who, yeah, they see in him their son," he said.