Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar apologizes for joke about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair on eve of Biden visit: Said he worked in DC when parents were worried about ‘what would happen to the interns” during the St. Patrick’s Day gaffe
- The Taoiseach cracked the joke in front of a group of Capitol interns
- He joked that he was an intern at the time of the Monica scandal
- His office apologized for “misjudged” remark; he meets Biden on Friday
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has apologized for making a ‘misjudged’ joke about Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky amid his scheduled St. Patrick’s Day DC whirlwind tour.
Varadkar, 44, made the joke while speaking to a group of interns in the nation’s capital – just a day after sitting next to former first lady Hillary Clinton at an event.
He was speaking at the Washington Ireland Program and recalling his own time as an intern in Washington more than two decades ago.
It was a time “when some parents would have had reason to worry about what would happen to interns in Washington,” he joked, referring to the sex scandal that made headlines around the world when it was revealed in 1998.
His office immediately sought to clean up the comment.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar joked about being an intern in Washington during the Monica Lewinsky scandal – a day after visiting former first lady Hillary Clinton
“At the Washington Ireland program event today, the Taoiseach reminisced about his time in Washington DC as an intern 23 years ago. He made a reckless remark that he regrets. He apologizes for any offense caused to anyone involved,” his spokesperson said.
It all happened on a highly publicized day for Ireland in the United States. Varadkar is due to meet President Joe Biden on Friday, where they will mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
They later join an annual Friends of Ireland Caucus luncheon at the Capitol, and Biden hosts him tonight for a Shamrock presentation and concert with Niall Horan. He visited Vice President Kamala Harris at the Vice President’s official residence in the morning.
Bill and Hillary Clinton will play a prominent role next month to mark the anniversary of the accords, which have been a key development of his administration. Biden and Varadkar will mark their “unwavering support” for the deal at the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris laughs as she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff host a St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his partner Matthew Barrett at the Vice President’s Residence
Varadkar’s office sought to clean up the comment, saying it meant no offense
Varadkar was an intern in Washington more than 20 years ago. He joked that it was a time “when some parents would have had reason to worry about what would happen to interns in Washington,” in reference to the Clinton Lewinsky scandal.
Varadkar isn’t the first prominent figure in Washington to crack an intern joke. But last Thursday he sat next to Hillary Clinton at Georgetown University where he spoke about the important role of women in bringing about the Good Friday Agreement and the Belfast Accord, which will be marked in Ireland and Northern Ireland next month.
“The central role of women in the peace process was visible to everyone involved at the time,” he said, The Independent reported.
“Women were there at its formal and informal genesis. Women played a leading role at political summits in Belfast, London, Dublin and Washington, and raised their voices in the civil society that shaped the context in which peace became possible,” he said. for follow-up.
During their breakfast, Harris said Biden started the tradition of hosting the Toiseach when he was vice president and she had “now caught the bug.”
She referred to “hard-won, hard-won” peace.
Varadkar said he and his partner Matthew Barrett, both doctors, were “inspired” by Harris’ support for marriage equality and the fight against Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage in California.
‘From Stonewall to Sacramento to San Francisco. America has led the way in LGBT equality. I don’t think I would be here today without what America did,” he said.
