The Congressman Who Saw the Truth About Biden
While many Democrats remained in denial, Mike Quigley perceived something painfully familiar.
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Midway through President Joe Biden’s four-day trip to Ireland in April 2023, Representative Mike Quigley of Illinois realized whom the president reminded him of and why.
The proudly Irish president was in great spirits, energized by the crowds. In Ballina, he delivered a speech to one of the biggest audiences of his political career. Standing in front of Saint Muredach’s Cathedral, the president recalled that 27,000 of the bricks used in its construction were provided in 1828 by his great-great-great-grandfather, Edward Blewitt, for £21 and 12 shillings.
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Become a Subscriber“I was able to hold one of them in my hand today,” the president said. “They’re damn heavy.” The crowd laughed.
It was a homecoming in many ways. The president had brought with him his sister, Valerie, and son Hunter. They went to see a memorial plaque to Beau Biden at the Mayo Roscommon Hospice. One of the priests at the Knock Shrine turned out to have given Beau last rites in 2015, a revelation that brought the president to tears. In a speech to the joint houses of the Irish Parliament, the president said it was Beau who “should be the one standing here giving this speech to you.”
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