Joe Biden says black man ‘looks like’ Obama in incredibly awkward moment during speech: ‘Barack, what are you doing?’
By Victor Nava
Published April 14, 2026, 10:10 p.m. ET
Close, but no Obama.
Former President Joe Biden spotted a familiar face on stage during his portrait unveiling at Syracuse University School of Law Tuesday and demanded the man join him at the podium in an awkward exchange.
“I always want to turn around to one guy and say … ‘Barack, what are you doing?’” Biden joked during the event at his alma mater.
Joe Biden points to a podium next to a man laughing.
Biden joked that he mistook board chairman and former Syracuse University president Jeffrey Scruggs for former President Barack Obama.
The 83-year-old former president was referring to Jeffrey Scruggs, who is black and the chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, and apparently reminds Biden of the 44th president, Barack Obama.
Biden awkwardly put the spotlight on Scruggs and called for him to come up to the podium, despite the chairman’s apparent reluctance.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/14/us-news/biden-awkwardly-demands-syracuse-university-trustee-who-looks-like-obama-join-him-at-podium-barack-what-are-you-doing/
