US President Joe Biden recently took a loss when he opted to reuse a Reagan-era joke while giving the commencement speech for the 2021 graduating class of the US Coast Guard Academy.
Although former US President Ronald Reagan received a chorus of laughter when he tossed in a joke at the US Navy’s expense, the punchline wasn’t well received by cadets during the Wednesday ceremony.
— tsar becket adams (@BecketAdams) May 19, 2021
Appearing somewhat taken aback by the lack of chuckling or cackling, Biden quickly went on the offensive and lashed out at the cadets by referring to them as a “really dull class” and questioning whether the sun was getting to them since no laughing was heard.
While many have since accused Biden of plagiarizing the joke, it’s worth mentioning that it has been repeatedly tapped by others, including former US Vice President Dick Cheney, as reporter Becket Adams has pointed out.