“As we Catholics say, ‘Oh my God,”’ he said, crossing himself to laughter from his audience.

Earlier in the speech, he acknowledged frustration that Congress has been unable to agree to an overhaul of U.S. policing following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis.

“I remember many times, meeting his little daughter, and she’d say to me, my daddy’s changing history, he is going to change history,” he said. “We haven’t fulfilled that yet. I understand, you got to keep fighting, let me be clear though, we’re going to continue to fight for real police reform legislation.”

He also scolded Senate Republicans for blocking measures to ease voting in the U.S. — a response to laws passed in Republican-controlled states to restrict voting after Trump’s false claims that Biden’s election was illegitimate.

“They are following my predecessor, the last president, into a deep deep black hole of a mess,” Biden said. “Jim Crow in the 21st century is now a sinister combination of voter suppression and election subversion.”

Source: Bloomberg