Joe Biden’s trip to Ireland ended with the former president hiding behind an umbrella while an angry crowd hurled milk cartons at his departing motorcade. The 83-year-old was swarmed as he left Trinity College Dublin on Tuesday, where he had shown up unannounced to watch his son Hunter collect an award for “outstanding contribution to public discourse.” Video of the scene shows cartons bursting near his security detail and police wrestling with demonstrators as Biden is hurried into a waiting SUV. Neither he nor former first lady Jill Biden was injured, and at least two people were arrested.
The confrontation capped what was meant to be a quiet family occasion. Biden and his wife made a surprise appearance at the College Historical Society, known as The Hist, where Hunter received its Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse on November 10th. The former president sat in the front row of the Examination Hall, led a standing ovation when his son finished his remarks, and met privately with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
A pro-Palestinian crowd had gathered near the venue after learning the former president was attending, and it erupted the moment the family stepped outside into Front Square. Demonstrators chanted “Genocide Joe,” “Shame on you,” and “Blood on your hands” as the Bidens walked toward their vehicles. Some pressed close enough to the motorcade that Garda officers had to physically restrain them and clear a route for the departing cars.
The scene was captured on video and spread across social media within minutes. As Breaking911 posted on X: “Joe Biden was pelted with milk cartons in Dublin, Ireland, as he took cover behind an umbrella. Police wrestled with protesters while he was rushed into his SUV.” The footage shows the former president hunching behind an upraised umbrella as officers pull protesters away from the cars and shield him on the way to the vehicle.
As the International Business Times reported, footage showed cartons and other objects being thrown toward the security personnel, who raised the umbrellas to protect the departing party, and some officers were struck by a milk-like substance during the confrontation. Gardaí moved in to clear a path for the vehicles, and student newspaper The University Times reported that pepper spray was used on two demonstrators. Trinity College confirmed the protest began during the ceremony and escalated as the former president left.
The ceremony itself went on with the chanting audible from inside the hall while Hunter spoke about his struggles with addiction. During the question-and-answer session that followed his address, The Irish Times reported, Hunter described Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza as “mass murder.” “I totally agree that what is happening in Gaza, particularly right now, is absolutely and completely wrong, and there is no excuse for it,” he said, adding that his father “tried to make the best decisions at the time on the information that he had.”
Watch Biden’s security detail shield him from the flying cartons here:
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Trinity’s student unions stood behind the demonstrators rather than the school’s guest. The Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union and Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn, Ireland’s national students’ union, posted a joint statement on Instagram defending the protest, as NDTV reported. “Students have every right to protest [Biden’s] visit, challenge those in positions of power and demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the unions said.
The Dublin appearance came as the former president scales back his public schedule. Biden said over the weekend that his health would prevent him from making as many public appearances to promote his forthcoming memoir as he had hoped. He was diagnosed last year with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, and Hunter said in an interview over the summer that his father’s condition was worsening and causing him pain.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.