‘You Can Clap For That, Please’ Biden Prompts Crowd

In a moment reminiscent of former presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s infamous “please clap” moment, President Joe Biden politely requested that the audience clap after a line in his St. Patrick’s Day speech yesterday.

Biden’s speech occurred at a diplomatic event with the Prime Minister of Ireland, in which the two nations celebrated their long history of positive diplomatic and economic relations and acknowledged the history of Irish heritage in America.

“We celebrate the bonds of our friendship today connecting millions of Irish Americans and American people,” Biden said. “We celebrate the friendship between the two nations — one that has shaped our past, strengthened our present and inspires our future.

“Ireland now is one of the top ten investors in the United States economy,” Biden said. “And our countries stand proudly for liberty and against tyranny. We stand together and oppose Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine. You can clap for that, please.”

Biden’s supplication for applause was one of the speech’s clearest lines, with the rest, unfortunately, being on par with the president’s usual speeches.

After slurring his way through several excruciating minutes, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar took the stage for a longer, clearer speech. Varadkar did not ask the audience to clap.

Biden had met with Varadkar a couple of days before the speech, discussing foreign policy while the Prime Minister was in the country. The meeting went about as well as you’d expect, with the foreign leader smiling on as Biden stumbled through his notecards.

When Varadkar brought up the situation in Isreal, Biden was asked by the press about Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) speech regarding the president of Israel.

“Senator Schumer contacted my staff, my senior staff, he was going to make that speech, and, uh, he, uh, I’m not going to exag — er — elaborate on the speech, he made a good speech and I think he, uh, expressed the serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,” Biden replied.

He proceeded to look around blankly while the press was herded out of the room.