An emotional Joe Biden tells Irish parliament: ‘I’m home’
- The US president is celebrating his Irish heritage on one of his longest foreign trips, as he gears up for an expected 2024 re-election campaign
- Biden began his trip on a more serious note in Northern Ireland, but shifted gears after crossing the border
US President Joe Biden told the Irish parliament he was “home” in an emotional address on the second day of a nostalgic three-day tour celebrating his Irish heritage as he geared up for a planned 2024 re-election campaign.
“I’m home … I only wish I could stay longer,” he said to applause and cheers in a packed chamber.
On one of the longest foreign trips of his presidency, Biden became the fourth US president to address the parliament after John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. A state banquet was held for the president at Dublin Castle afterwards.
“Well mum, you said it would happen,” he said looking skyward at the start of his speech, having met some of his late mother’s distant relatives on Wednesday.
Biden began his trip on a more serious note in Northern Ireland, where on Wednesday he urged political leaders there to restore their power-sharing government with the promise of significant US investment.
