Biden Spox Pushes Back On Uproar Over ‘Black and Tan’ Gaffe At Ireland Briefing: ‘It Was Incredibly Clear’ He Meant ‘All Blacks’

President Joe Biden’s press team pushed back at a briefing in Ireland when asked about the uproar over a misidentified Rugby team that “got some attention in Europe.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Senior Director For Europe Amanda Sloat briefed reporters in Dublin Thursday, the penultimate day of  Biden’s trip through the Emerald Isle. Sloat and Jean-Pierre were asked about Biden misidentifying his cousin’s one-time rugby opponent as the “Black and Tans” rather than the “All Blacks”:

Q Okay. And then, on the comment about Black and Tan — the rugby comments that have gotten some attention in Europe — was he aware that he misspoke there when he was —

MS. SLOAT: I think for everyone in Ireland who is a rugby fan, it was incredibly clear that the President was talking about the All Blacks and Ireland’s defeat of the New Zealand team in 2016.

Q Did he realize that right after he said it, do you know?

MS. SLOAT: You know, I think it was — it was clear what the President was referring to. It was certainly clear to his cousin sitting next to him who had played in that match.

At issue was a comment Biden made at the end of a community event in Dundalk Wednesday, during which he wrapped up by shouting out his former Rugby star cousin Rob Kearney:

And the closing comment I make: You see this tie I have with this shamrock on it? This was given to me by one of these guys right here. He was a hell of a rugby player, and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans. Oh, God. (Laughter.)

But — but it was when you — or it’s Solder Field. Wasn’t it, the game?

PARTICIPANT: Chicago.

THE PRESIDENT: Chicago. And after it was all over, he gave my brother — allegedly for me, but if it wasn’t, I still took it. I still got the tie. I wear it with great pride.

The correct team was the New Zealand “All Blacks,” whom Kearney’s Ireland team defeated in Chicago in 2016. The White House noted the error in the transcript with a strikethrough and a correction. “Black and Tans” is the name of a military unit that fought against Irish independence a century ago.

Some critics portrayed the error as an embarrassing stain on the visit, while others found it amusing, as Colby Hall noted “Depend(ing) on the outlet.”

Watch above via The White House.