Joe Biden told a harrowing story during an event in 2017 about facing down a razor-wielding gang leader named Corn Pop in his youth by threatening to “wrap” a chain around the man’s head. The incident came back into the spotlight over the weekend when footage of Biden’s remarks began circulating social media.
The former vice president, who has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for embellishing portions of his personal and political life, told the story when being honored with having a community pool named after him in a Wilmington, Delaware, historically black neighborhood. Biden had reportedly been the only white lifeguard at the pool during the early 1960s when segregation was still in effect.
The event started with Biden discussing how his time as a lifeguard had opened his eyes about racial injustice and privilege. It, however, quickly took a strange turn when Biden, flanked by children from the local community, decided to recount a nearly violent altercation he had at the pool with a misbehaving swimmer.
‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding’: Upcoming O.J. Simpson Biopic Reaches New Low for Hollywood, Depicts Him as Innocent
Foreign Students Who Get Suspended for Anti-Israel Activities Could Face Even Tougher Punishment, DHS Confirms
Fauci to testify publicly before Congress for 1st time since retirement
US senators demand answers on closure plan for California women’s prison where inmates were sexually abused
Biden admin cracks down on power plants fueling nation’s grid
Supreme Court to hear arguments in Trump presidential immunity case
Biden sparks Christian group’s anger after making sign of the cross at abortion rally: ‘Disgusting insult’
Texas high school shooting leaves 18-year-old student dead, shot multiple times; suspect in custody
Secret Service agent on VP Harris’ detail removed from assignment after physical fight while on duty
Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont had thousands of trees, bushes ‘illegally’ cut behind $7.5M home
More people exposed to Manhattan Project chemicals deserve compensation, advocates say
Arizona alleged ‘fake electors’ who backed Trump in 2020 indicted by grand jury
Watch: Woman’s How-To Video on Abortion Goes Wrong When People Notice What’s in Background
“Numbers made up”,“Someone’s cooking the books” – Reaction to Biden’s Economic Numbers
Watch: Abortion Advocate Desperately Tries to Interrupt Pastor’s Prayer at Capitol, Fails Miserably
“Corn Pop was a bad dude, and he ran a bunch of bad boys. Back in those days, to show how things have changed … if you used pomade in your hair, you had to wear a bathing cap,” Biden said. “He was up on the board and wouldn’t listen to me, so I said ‘Hey, Esther, you, off the board or I’ll come up and drag you off.’”
Corn Pop, according to the former vice president, did not take kindly to being called “Esther” — an “emasculating” reference to the 1950s swimmer Esther Williams, as the Washington Post noted — and promised to “meet” him outside. Biden realized he had to take Corn Pop seriously when he purportedly saw the gang leader waiting around for him with three other guys carrying straight razors.
This is BIZARRE!
Here's Joe Biden telling the story of his face-off with a gang of razor-wielding ne'er-do-wells led by a guy named 'Corn Pop.' pic.twitter.com/DddRtWgdza— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) September 15, 2019
‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding’: Upcoming O.J. Simpson Biopic Reaches New Low for Hollywood, Depicts Him as Innocent
Foreign Students Who Get Suspended for Anti-Israel Activities Could Face Even Tougher Punishment, DHS Confirms
Fauci to testify publicly before Congress for 1st time since retirement
US senators demand answers on closure plan for California women’s prison where inmates were sexually abused
Biden admin cracks down on power plants fueling nation’s grid
Supreme Court to hear arguments in Trump presidential immunity case
Biden sparks Christian group’s anger after making sign of the cross at abortion rally: ‘Disgusting insult’
Texas high school shooting leaves 18-year-old student dead, shot multiple times; suspect in custody
Secret Service agent on VP Harris’ detail removed from assignment after physical fight while on duty
Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont had thousands of trees, bushes ‘illegally’ cut behind $7.5M home
More people exposed to Manhattan Project chemicals deserve compensation, advocates say
Arizona alleged ‘fake electors’ who backed Trump in 2020 indicted by grand jury
Watch: Woman’s How-To Video on Abortion Goes Wrong When People Notice What’s in Background
“Numbers made up”,“Someone’s cooking the books” – Reaction to Biden’s Economic Numbers
Watch: Abortion Advocate Desperately Tries to Interrupt Pastor’s Prayer at Capitol, Fails Miserably
In his 2007 autobiography, Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics, Biden admitted that he specifically signaled out Corn Pop for violating the pool’s rules to show he “wasn’t an easy mark.” The former vice president also wrote that his first instinct was to call the police, but he was convinced by the pool’s mechanic, a white former Navy sailor named Bill Wright, that doing so would ensure he would never be trusted by the neighborhood’s black community. Instead, Wright suggested Biden confront Corn Pop and the others with “a six-foot length of chain.”
Biden, as he described in his autobiography, took the advice, walked outside, and said, “You might cut me, Corn Pop, but I’m going to wrap this chain around your head before you do.”
“I looked at him, but I was smart then,” Biden told the audience in 2017. He said he told Corn Pop, “first of all, when I tell you to get off the board, you get off the board, and I’ll kick you out again, but I shouldn’t have called you Esther Williams. I apologize for that. … I apologize for what I said.”
‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding’: Upcoming O.J. Simpson Biopic Reaches New Low for Hollywood, Depicts Him as Innocent
Foreign Students Who Get Suspended for Anti-Israel Activities Could Face Even Tougher Punishment, DHS Confirms
Fauci to testify publicly before Congress for 1st time since retirement
US senators demand answers on closure plan for California women’s prison where inmates were sexually abused
Biden admin cracks down on power plants fueling nation’s grid
Supreme Court to hear arguments in Trump presidential immunity case
Biden sparks Christian group’s anger after making sign of the cross at abortion rally: ‘Disgusting insult’
Texas high school shooting leaves 18-year-old student dead, shot multiple times; suspect in custody
Secret Service agent on VP Harris’ detail removed from assignment after physical fight while on duty
Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont had thousands of trees, bushes ‘illegally’ cut behind $7.5M home
More people exposed to Manhattan Project chemicals deserve compensation, advocates say
Arizona alleged ‘fake electors’ who backed Trump in 2020 indicted by grand jury
Watch: Woman’s How-To Video on Abortion Goes Wrong When People Notice What’s in Background
“Numbers made up”,“Someone’s cooking the books” – Reaction to Biden’s Economic Numbers
Watch: Abortion Advocate Desperately Tries to Interrupt Pastor’s Prayer at Capitol, Fails Miserably
The apology seemed to diffuse the situation, much to Biden’s relief.
“He said ‘okay,’ closed his straight razor, and my heart began to beat again,” the former vice president said.
The story came back into the spotlight on Saturday after numerous individuals shared clips from the 2017 pool dedication on social media. Many of those seeing the clip for the first time immediately accused the former vice president of fabricating the story. Most notably, Michael Harriot, a senior writer for The Root, took to social media to blast the story as “alien-like.”
Thread: I'm always astounded by the imaginings of white people as it relates to race. Many of them have this fictionalized jigaboo version that is almost alien-like. And one of the greatest examples of this ever is Joe Biden's story about Corn Pop the gangsta.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 14, 2019
Anyway, during Biden's Negro Summer Safari Adventure, one day, all of the town gangsters came to the pool.
Now I know what you're thinking, but don't stereotype. Gangbangers are NOT a monolith.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 14, 2019
‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding’: Upcoming O.J. Simpson Biopic Reaches New Low for Hollywood, Depicts Him as Innocent
Foreign Students Who Get Suspended for Anti-Israel Activities Could Face Even Tougher Punishment, DHS Confirms
Fauci to testify publicly before Congress for 1st time since retirement
US senators demand answers on closure plan for California women’s prison where inmates were sexually abused
Biden admin cracks down on power plants fueling nation’s grid
Supreme Court to hear arguments in Trump presidential immunity case
Biden sparks Christian group’s anger after making sign of the cross at abortion rally: ‘Disgusting insult’
Texas high school shooting leaves 18-year-old student dead, shot multiple times; suspect in custody
Secret Service agent on VP Harris’ detail removed from assignment after physical fight while on duty
Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont had thousands of trees, bushes ‘illegally’ cut behind $7.5M home
More people exposed to Manhattan Project chemicals deserve compensation, advocates say
Arizona alleged ‘fake electors’ who backed Trump in 2020 indicted by grand jury
Watch: Woman’s How-To Video on Abortion Goes Wrong When People Notice What’s in Background
“Numbers made up”,“Someone’s cooking the books” – Reaction to Biden’s Economic Numbers
Watch: Abortion Advocate Desperately Tries to Interrupt Pastor’s Prayer at Capitol, Fails Miserably
They told Biden that Corn Pop carried a straight razor and was gonna be waiting for him when he got off work. Now you and I both know that, if this was true, Biden would've just called the cops to walk him to the car.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 14, 2019
When he went out to the car, Corn Pop was indeed waiting for him. But Biden went Clint Eastwood on Corn and told OG Pop from the Romans:
"You might cut me, Corn Pop, but I’m going to wrap this chain around your head before you do."
Again, that is a direct quote.
— michaelharriot (@michaelharriot) September 14, 2019
‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding’: Upcoming O.J. Simpson Biopic Reaches New Low for Hollywood, Depicts Him as Innocent
Foreign Students Who Get Suspended for Anti-Israel Activities Could Face Even Tougher Punishment, DHS Confirms
Fauci to testify publicly before Congress for 1st time since retirement
US senators demand answers on closure plan for California women’s prison where inmates were sexually abused
Biden admin cracks down on power plants fueling nation’s grid
Supreme Court to hear arguments in Trump presidential immunity case
Biden sparks Christian group’s anger after making sign of the cross at abortion rally: ‘Disgusting insult’
Texas high school shooting leaves 18-year-old student dead, shot multiple times; suspect in custody
Secret Service agent on VP Harris’ detail removed from assignment after physical fight while on duty
Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont had thousands of trees, bushes ‘illegally’ cut behind $7.5M home
More people exposed to Manhattan Project chemicals deserve compensation, advocates say
Arizona alleged ‘fake electors’ who backed Trump in 2020 indicted by grand jury
Watch: Woman’s How-To Video on Abortion Goes Wrong When People Notice What’s in Background
“Numbers made up”,“Someone’s cooking the books” – Reaction to Biden’s Economic Numbers
Watch: Abortion Advocate Desperately Tries to Interrupt Pastor’s Prayer at Capitol, Fails Miserably
Although Biden’s retelling of the altercation was corroborated at the dedication ceremony by a former chairman of the Delaware NAACP, those unaware of the fact agreed with Harriot that the story seemed comically embellished if not totally concocted.
Biden, himself, has not done his credibility any favors in recent weeks by downplaying his fabrication of an emotional story about the war in Afghanistan, even after the Post debunked nearly every detail.
Story cited here.
Scroll down to leave a comment:
