Chief Justice Recalls Time He Was Mistaken for Former Speaker: ‘I Had To Spend the Whole Evening Pretending To Be John Boehner’

Chief Justice John Roberts made a rare public speaking appearance on Wednesday night at an awards dinner in Buffalo, New York, where he discussed a range of matters relating to the Supreme Court.

Roberts participated in a question-and-answer session with U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo, who at one point asked about being a notable figure.

“Let’s talk about your role in terms of you as a public figure,” Vilardo said. “Obviously, you’re very recognizable. People know who you are. You have to be on all the time, like now. And how do you separate that from your private life? How do you keep some privacy in your life and have this bigger-than-life role as chief justice of the United States?”

The chief justice answered by recalling a time when he was abroad and another American confused him for former Speaker John Boehner:

My wife and I were on vacation in Portugal last year. And another American came up to us. And he looked at me and says, “I know you. I know who you are. You’re John Boehner.” [laughter]

I had to spend the whole evening pretending to be John Boehner. So, when you say readily recognizable, really not, to be honest with you.

It’s getting worse, though, in general, just because the work of the court is getting to a higher degree of publicity. So, it is a problem. I will say, 99% of the interactions I’ve had with people, they come up and say hello, which is fine. And so, that’s good. But we’re not as recognizable as you might think.

Upon becoming speaker in 2011, Boehner asked Roberts to swear in his congressional aides.

Watch above via C-SPAN