Papua New Guinea PM flames Biden for implying uncle was eaten by 'cannibals,' report says

WASHINGTON (TND) — Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape reportedly fired back at President Joe Biden Sunday for claiming the country was once home to cannibals.

Biden recalled the death of his uncle last week, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr. He alleged his uncle "got shot down in New Guinea” while serving in the U.S. military in the 1940s.

Biden went on to state Finnegan Jr.'s body was never recovered. He added “there used to be a lot of cannibals” in New Guinea, seemingly implying they played a role in his uncle's death. The president told this story several times last week despite Finnegan Jr. not being described as a victim of cannibalism in any government records.

Firing back Sunday, Marape’s office attributed Biden’s story as another gaffe and deflected accusations of cannibalism.

"President Biden's remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labelled as such," the office told Reuters.

Marape's office reportedly continued, urging the White House to “look into cleaning up these remains of WWII so the truth about missing servicemen like Ambrose Finnegan can be put to rest."

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A representative for the State Department told Reuters in response the U.S. "respects the people and culture of Papua New Guinea and remains committed to furthering respectful relations between our democracies." Biden, the representative reportedly added, told last week's story "as he made the case for honoring our sacred commitment to equip those we send to war."

Biden’s story earned widespread criticism across social media last week. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the president, saying those critics were “missing the point.”

“The point is you have a president that lifts up American veterans, who lifts up our U.S. service members, and that's what matters,” she added. “He understands how critical and how important it is to be commander in chief.”

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