Joe Biden said “I hate the English” during a private meeting in the mid-to-late 2000s.
The horrific anecdote was revealed on the Rest is Politics podcast, which is hosted by former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and former Conservative minister Rory Stewart.
The political veterans were analysing the “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and the United States, stating that Britain is no longer Europe’s first concern.
During the conversation, Campbell and Stewart focused on President Biden, noting how he enjoys “playing up his Irishness.”
Mr Stewart claimed that Biden’s “anti-Britishness” manifested itself during his tenure as Vice President under President Obama.
“When we were briefing him on Iraq in the mid to late 2000s. One of my friends came in to brief him and came out completely shocked because she’d gone in to try and explain the Sunni-Shia dimension in Iraq and he, then Vice President to Obama, said: ‘I completely understand the situation. They hate each other. I’m Irish. I hate the English.’ And that was his absolutely off the cuff normal comment back in the 2000s.”
When questioned on the reliability of his source, the former Conservative MP said: “I have 100 percent cast-iron sourcing.”
He added: “When you tell this story to people close to Biden they laugh, he makes this sort of joke all the time.”
Mr. Stewart’s remarks came as Biden faced criticism for visiting Northern Ireland but skipping King Charles’ Coronation on May 6.
His visit to Northern Ireland fell on the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which put a stop to decades of sectarianism.
At the time, a source inside the powerful European Research Group described his decision to visit Northern Ireland while skipping the Coronation as a “very disappointing decision,” portraying it as a snub.