Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away on December 31st.
The President would normally attend the funeral of a leader of the world. Reporters asked Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary if Joe Biden would attend. The White House was embarrassed to hear the answer.
Joe Biden will not attend Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral, per request of the Vatican. pic.twitter.com/Q7VcYEhnei
— Kevin McMahon (@Kevin__McMahon) January 3, 2023
Jean-Pierre mispronounced the word “Emeritus”, making it sound like she has an infection. It seems like she is having a persistent problem. Someone needs to help her pronounce it correctly. That’s quite a problem when you’re the Press Secretary.
The White House didn’t have to be upset about this, but she did have to admit that Biden was not invited to attend the funeral.
Jean-Pierre stated that he will always be grateful for the Pope’s kindness and the meaningful conversation they had in 2011 when he visited the Vatican. “The U.S. Joe Donnelly, the Ambassador to the Holy See will represent the United States at the Pope’s funeral. This is in accordance with the wishes of both the Vatican and the late Pope. This is exactly what…this was their request. These were their wishes.
Biden, in his snippy response, essentially confirmed that he was excluded if this wasn’t obvious or unacceptable enough.
“You’re not attending [Pope Benedict’s] funeral tomorrow… Why?”
BIDEN: “Well, why do you think?
“You tell me!”
BIDEN: “You know why.” pic.twitter.com/Wo521Msozh
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 4, 2023
“You’re not attending [Pope Benedict’s] funeral tomorrow… Why?” a reporter asked. “Well, why do you think?” Biden responded. “You tell me!” the reporter replied. “You know why,” Biden said. It’s hard to decipher what he says after that but I think he ends it by saying that they would get “in the way.” But Joe Donnelly isn’t getting in the way? Why Donnelly rather than Biden?
Translation: They didn’t want Biden there, and even Biden gets that, hence the “You Know Why” response.
Although he was the first “Catholic” to be elected since John F. Kennedy, he was a passionate supporter of abortion. This is something that Pope Benedict and the Vatican would not approve of. Other leaders, including those from Italy and Germany, were also invited. However, Benedict didn’t likely want to confirm Biden’s poor positions by inviting him to his funeral.
