It was, by any measure, an awkward moment.

Former President Joe Biden, appearing at Syracuse University on Tuesday for the unveiling of his official portrait at the law school from which he graduated in 1968, told a Black university leader that he looked just like Barack Obama — then called the man back to the podium six times to make sure everyone got a look.

Jeffrey M. Scruggs, chairman of Syracuse’s board of trustees, had just finished warmly welcoming Biden to the stage, telling the crowd that Biden’s connections to the university “run deep and long” and praising him for offering “perspective and inspiration” to graduates during the pandemic years. Biden returned the kind words by pointing at Scruggs and telling the crowd he kept mistaking him for the former president.

“By the way, I always want to turn around [to] one guy and say ‘Barack, what are you doing?'” Biden told the audience, drawing laughter.

He then pointed at Scruggs and called him back to the podium. “Come here, come here, come here, come here, come here, come here,” Biden said — six times in succession.

Scruggs chuckled and walked back up.

“Doesn’t he look like Barack!?” Biden asked the crowd. Scruggs smiled, shook his head, and offered a semi-shrug. He did not appear to embrace the comparison, but took it in stride.

“As they say, you done good, fella,” Biden told him as the two shook hands.

“Well, I try,” Scruggs replied, laughed lightly, and left the stage.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)