DUP MP Sammy Wilson has faced criticism after claiming Joe Biden had reflected his "mother's bigotry" during the US president's Irish visit.
The East Antrim MP's comments followed Mr Biden mistakenly referring to the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby squad as the "Black and Tans" while speaking in a visit to the Windsor pub in Dundalk, Co Louth last Wednesday.
The president, who is the fifth cousin of the father of Irish rugby star Rob Kearney, made reference to last year's second test match between Ireland and New Zealand that saw the Irish squad defeat the All-Blacks for the first time in their history.
Read More
- Camogie player dubbed 'Lee Hurley Oswald' after sliotar comes close to striking US president
- Editorial: Joe Biden's message of hope
- Biden declares US and Ireland ‘united by history’ as he ends island tour
Mr Biden had been discussing a tie he was wearing that had been gifted by Mr Kearney, saying of his distant relative: "He was a hell of a rugby player. He beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.”
Mr Biden's comments raised eyebrows as he appeared to confuse the All-Blacks with the British military force that terrorised Ireland when bolstering the Royal Irish Constabulary at the time of the War of Independence.
Referring to the incident while speaking to the UK's Daily Express newspaper, Mr Wilson described the president as a "bumbling bigot", and spoke of Mr Biden's mother, who the president previously revealed had once refused to sleep in a hotel bed that the late Queen Elizabeth had slept in during a visit to the UK, choosing instead to sleep on the floor.
The claim about Mr Biden's mother, Catherine Finnegan, who died in 2010, was revealed last year in an autobiography by TV screenwriter Georgia Pritchett.
The British writer claimed she was told the anecdote by Mr Biden while conducting research for the HBO comedy series Veep, about a fictional US vice-president.
Sammy Wilson, who expressed his support for Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 US election that saw Mr Biden win the presidency, told the Express: "The gaffe-prone President is so deeply embedded with his mother’s bigotry that even in his senior moments his anti-Britishness reveals itself.
He added: "The sad thing is that this bumbling bigot presents himself as the leader of the free world.”
Mr Wilson's comments came as his former party leader Arlene Foster claimed Mr Biden "hates" the UK while speaking on right-wing TV channel GB News.
Mr Wilson's comments earned criticism, including from Daily Mirror columnist and commentator Brian Reade, who said they showed a "grim lack of self-awareness".
Former Irish Independent journalist Tony O'Brien also hit out at the comments, along with those made by Ms Foster, accusing DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson of offering a "mealy mouthed" response when questioned on RTÉ about the criticisms of the president.
Mr O'Brien called the comments made by Mr Wilson and Ms Foster "deplorable", adding in a tweet: "What makes these people tick?"
Mr Wilson has previously faced criticism for comments he has made during his time as a DUP politician, including while campaigning for the Brexit referendum in 2016, when he was captured on camera in Carrickfergus replying "you are absolutely right" to a man who said: "Get the ethnics out."
The MP went on to say he was not agreeing with the man when he made the remark.
