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 at the White House on Thursday, but he was either not completely sure of that or making a joke.

While announcing the team’s latest championship, Biden turned to the team to make sure they were called the Celtics. 

“You’re the Celtics, right?” Biden asked the players during a moment in his address. The comment was met with light but reserved chuckles from some in the crowd. 

Biden also joked that he didn’t know where the players came from.

“They just showed up. I don’t know where the hell they came from,” Biden said. 

Later in the speech, Biden appeared to reveal his Secret Service code name. “Celtic” has been Biden’s code name throughout his presidency and even dating back to his vice presidency under President Obama, according to Britannica.  

“All of you may not know this, but my Secret Service name is ‘Celtic.’ For real, because I’m Irish,” Biden said. “Everybody behind me is Irish in their heart. I feel a special pride in this trophy for this old Irish Celtic. To all you Celtics, congratulations.”

Biden concluded his speech by pointing out that John F. Kennedy was the first president to host an NBA champion when the Celtics visited in 1963.

“Part of that wonderful tradition, celebrating the power of sports to bring people together. It’s a tradition that I’ve had the honor to continue. No matter the sport. What these champions all have in common are core values. … Hard work, teamwork, respect and the knowledge that no one of us is ever as good as all of us can be when we’re together,” he said.

After Biden’s speech, he received a custom Celtics jersey and took a basketball with him as he walked down the stairs. He dribbled the ball and even made a few passes to attendees in the crowd. 

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The 2023-24 Celtics roster, coaching staff and ownership group were on hand on the South Lawn for Thursday’s event.

The 2023 champion Denver Nuggets did not attend a Biden White House visit, reportedly due to “scheduling issues,” the team previously told The Denver Post. 

Prior to Thursday, the last NBA champion to visit Biden’s White House was the 2021-2022 Golden State Warriors. Those Warriors visited in late January 2023. The Celtics’ White House visit was scheduled for November. By late January of next year, Trump will be in office.

Not a single NBA champion attended the Trump White House when he was in office. However, the only two teams to win the title under Trump prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were the Warriors, who Trump did not invite, and the Toronto Raptors, who are based in Canada. 

Trump infamously declined to invite several major women’s basketball championship teams to the White House during his first term, including every WNBA champion. 

The one time Trump’s White House hosted a women’s basketball team was the 2019 national champion Baylor Bears, led by former head coach Kim Mulkey. 

The only two NFL teams to get invitations to Trump’s White House during his first term were the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots accepted both invitations in 2017 and 2019. The Eagles’ visit was canceled, and the team released a statement saying it was in relation to Trump’s stance on players standing for the national anthem.

During Trump’s first term, and even during his recent campaign, college football has been the sport to embrace him the most in the U.S. His appearances at games, including multiple Army-Navy games during his first term and a Georgia-Alabama game in September, were met with rousing applause.

No college football national champion skipped a White House visit during Trump’s first term. Georgia skipped a visit to President Biden’s White House in 2023.

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