President Biden tells audience his matrilineal ancestor was accused of being a 'Molly Maguire' when he ran for office in the early 20th century
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President Biden joked he was once "disappointed" to find out his great-grandfather was not part of a violent group that killed bigoted mine foremen.
The president spoke about his ancestor, Edward Francis Blewitt, during a rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh on Monday.
"I remember when my great-grandfather was only the second Catholic elected statewide in the state Senate here in Pennsylvania," Biden told the audience. "And I remember they talked about – when they’d run against him in 1906 – they said, ‘Guess what? He’s a Molly Maguire.’"
President Biden talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., after returning from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
"A lot of the English owned the coal mines and what they did was they really beat the hell out of the mostly Catholic population in the mines. Not a joke," Biden continued. "But there was a group they called the Molly Maguires. And Molly Maguires, if they found out the foreman was taking advantage of an individual, they would literally kill him. Not a joke. And they would bring his body up and put him on the doorstep of his family."
Harris nodded along as the president told the story of his maternal ancestor, an anecdote he previously used while on the campaign trial with former President Barack Obama.
"Kind of crude, but I gotta admit they accused my great-grandfather of being a Molly Maguire – he wasn’t, but we were so damn disappointed," Biden told the audience before assuring them, "That was a joke. That was a joke."
MARGIN OF ERROR RACE BETWEEN HARRIS AND TRUMP AS 2024 ELECTION ENTERS FINAL STRETCH
President Biden speaks during a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at IBEW Local Union #5 in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Library of the Pennsylvania Senate confirms that Blewitt was the second Catholic person elected to the state assembly in 1907; he followed William McSherry, who served from 1813-1817.
Biden's appearance in Pittsburgh marks a return from approximately a week of low profile vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
That vacation immediately followed an entire separate six-day getaway to Democratic Party donor Joe Kiani's California ranch estate. Biden cleared his work schedule ahead of the multi-week holiday.
Flanked by labor union leaders, Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to union workers during a campaign event at Northwestern High School in Detroit. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Biden's disastrous performance against former President Donald Trump in their late June debate turned up the volume on existing concerns from Americans that the 81-year-old president would have the physical and mental stamina to handle another four years in the White House.
It also sparked a rising chorus of calls from top Democratic Party allies and elected officials for Biden to drop out of the race, which he did on July 21 before almost immediately endorsing Harris.
Most of the latest national surveys show Harris with a slight single-digit edge over Trump, but the presidential election is not a national popular vote contest. It is a battle for the individual states and their electoral votes.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at
