Biden appears to forget name of Celtics, reveals Secret Service code name during team's White House visit

President Biden hosted the 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics astatine the White House Thursday, but helium was either not wholly definite of that oregon making a joke.

While announcing the team's latest championship, Biden turned to the squad to marque definite they were called the Celtics. 

"You're the Celtics, right?" Biden asked the players during a infinitesimal successful his address. The remark was met with light, but reserved chuckles from immoderate successful the crowd. 

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Biden besides joked that helium didn't cognize wherever the players came from.

"They conscionable showed up. I don’t cognize wherever the hellhole they came from," Biden said. 

Later successful the speech, Biden appeared to uncover his Secret Service codification name. Celtic has been Biden's codification sanction passim his presidency and adjacent dating backmost to his vice presidency nether Obama, according to Britannica.  

"All of you whitethorn not cognize this, but my Secret Service sanction is Celtic. For real, due to the fact that I’m Irish," Biden said. "Everybody down maine is Irish successful their heart. I consciousness a peculiar pridefulness successful this trophy for this aged Irish Celtic. To each you Celtics, congratulations."

President Joe Biden, center, flanked by Boston Celtics players Jayson Tatum, left, and Derrick White, holds up a jersey they presented to him during an lawsuit to observe the team's triumph successful the 2024 NBA championship, connected the South Lawn of the White House successful Washington, D.C., Thursday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden concluded his code by pointing retired that John F. Kennedy was the archetypal president to big an NBA champion erstwhile the Celtics visited successful 1963.

"Part of that fantastic tradition, celebrating the powerfulness of sports to bring radical together. It’s a contented that I’ve had the grant to continue. No substance the sport. What these champions each person successful communal are halfway values. … Hard work, teamwork, respect and the cognition that nary 1 of america is ever arsenic bully arsenic each of america tin beryllium erstwhile we’re together."

After Biden's speech, helium received a customized Celtics jersey and took a hoops with him arsenic helium walked down the stairs. He dribbled the shot and adjacent made a fewer passes to attendees successful the crowd. 

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President Joe Biden throws a hoops helium received from the Boston Celtics astatine an lawsuit to observe the team's triumph successful the 2024 NBA championship, connected the South Lawn of the White House successful Washington, D.C., Thursday. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The 2023-24 Celtics roster, coaching unit and ownership radical were connected manus connected the South Lawn for Thursday’s event.

The 2023 champion Denver Nuggets did not be a Biden White House visit, reportedly owed to "scheduling issues," the squad antecedently told The Denver Post. 

Prior to Thursday, the past NBA champion to sojourn Biden's White House was the 2021-2022 Golden State Warriors. Those Warriors visited successful precocious January 2023. The Celtics' White House sojourn was scheduled for November. By precocious January of adjacent year, Trump volition beryllium successful office.

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Not a azygous NBA champion attended the Trump White House erstwhile helium was successful office. However, the lone 2 teams to triumph the rubric nether Trump anterior to the COVID-19 pandemic were the Golden State Warriors, who Trump did not invite, and the Toronto Raptors, who are based successful Canada. 

Trump infamously declined to invitation respective large women's hoops title teams to the White House during his archetypal term, including each WNBA champion. 

Coach Kim Mulkey and the Baylor women’s NCAA title hoops squad contiguous President Trump with a jersey during a sojourn to the Oval Office astatine the White House April 29, 2019, successful Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The 1 clip Trump's White House hosted a women's hoops squad was the 2019 nationalist champion Baylor Bears led by erstwhile caput manager Kim Mulkey. 

The lone 2 NFL teams to get invitations to Trump's White House during his archetypal word were the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots accepted some invitations successful 2017 and 2019. The Eagles' sojourn was canceled, and the squad released a connection saying it was successful narration to Trump's stance connected players lasting for the nationalist anthem.

During Trump's archetypal term, and adjacent during his caller campaign, assemblage shot has been the athletics to clasp Trump the astir successful the U.S. His appearances astatine games, including aggregate Army-Navy games successful his archetypal word and a Georgia-Alabama crippled successful September, were met with rousing applause.

No assemblage shot nationalist champion skipped a White House sojourn during Trump's archetypal term. Georgia skipped a sojourn to President Biden's White House successful 2023.

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