Was Biden's uncle eaten by cannibals in World War Two? Military records reveal what REALLY happened to Ambrose Finnegan as White House dodges questions on Joe's tall tale
- White House dodges questions on whether Biden's uncle was eaten by cannibals
- Biden made claim when visiting Scranton's World War II memorial Wednesday
- Pentagon war records cast doubt on Biden's story
The White House dodged questions Thursday after Joe Biden made the startling claim that his uncle was eaten by cannibals during World War II.
Biden suggested his relative had met a grisly end at the hands of flesh-eating savages after his plane was shot down by the enemy over New Guinea.
The president made the assertion, apparently for the first time publicly, during a trip to his birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
In Scranton he visited a World War II memorial that bears the name of his maternal uncle, Ambrose J. Finnegan, who the Biden family referred to as 'Uncle Bosie'.
Biden described how Finnegan's plane was 'shot down' and implied that he was flying the aircraft.
According to the president his uncle 'got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals at the time...they never recovered his body.'
However, Pentagon records have emerged flatly contradicting the president's claims.
They show that the aircraft - an A-20 Havoc - suffered engine failure and was lost over the sea, rather than landing in a jungle amid cannibalistic tribes.
The records also show that Finnegan was a passenger on a non-combat flight. He was listed on the manifest as a 'courier'.
It was the latest in a litany of stories Biden has told which have later been found to include factual errors or exaggerations.
On board Air Force One on Thursday reporters repeatedly asked Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, to confirm the president's cannibal story, but she did not.
She joked that there was 'no cannibal tab' in her binder of information.
Jean-Pierre went on to confirm that Biden's uncle 'died 'when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea' - rather than being eaten by cannibals.
Jean-Pierre said: 'Look, you saw the president. He was incredibly proud of his uncle's service in uniform. You saw him at the war memorial. It was incredibly emotional and important to him.
'You saw him respond to all of you when asked about the moment yesterday, and his uncle, who lost his life when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea,' she continued.
Jean-Pierre added that Biden highlighted his uncle's story to make the case for 'honoring our sacred commitment to equip those we send to war and to take care of them and their families when they come home.'
'And as he reiterated that the last thing American veterans are are suckers or losers, and he wanted to make that clear,' she added - a dig at former President Donald Trump, Biden's 2024 general election opponent.
Trump has strongly denied making such comments about American soldiers who died in World War II.
When a reporter asked her again about the veracity of the cannibal claim Jean-Pierre responded, 'I mean, look, I don't have anything beyond about what I just laid out.'
'But it was a really proud moment for him. It was incredibly emotional,' she said.
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