Former President Joe Biden turned what should have been a routine trip back to his alma mater into another viral embarrassment, pulling Syracuse University Board of Trustees Chairman Jeffrey Scruggs onstage and repeatedly calling him “Barack” because he “looks like” former President Barack Obama.
The moment unfolded during a portrait-unveiling ceremony at Syracuse University College of Law, where Biden graduated in 1968.
Scruggs, a Goldman Sachs managing director who has led the university’s board since 2023 and whose late father was a pioneering African American history professor at Syracuse’s Maxwell School, had been seated onstage when Biden, 83, spotted him mid-speech and launched into the bit anyway.
“I always want to turn around to one guy and say … ‘Barack, what are you doing?’” Biden said, per CSPAN, drawing some scattered laughs.
Biden then waved Scruggs over to the podium. “Come here, come here,” he repeatedly insisted. “I feel like he should be standing on the right and I should be standing on the left.”
“Doesn’t he look like Barack?” Biden asked the crowd.
Scruggs smiled, shrugged, and played along politely.
The clip has gone viral online, with some noting that the man resembled Obama, while others pointed out the racially awkward moment.
Scruggs has not publicly commented beyond his onstage reaction. Syracuse University also declined immediate comment on the exchange.
Whether it was his presidential debate performance in 2024, his past comments saying “you ain’t Black” if you don’t vote for him, or the kid-gloves treatment he often received from legacy media outlets during his campaign, Biden’s off-the-cuff remarks continue to generate headlines.