‘You’re a really dull class ... Is the sun getting to you?’ quips Biden after joke falls flat at Coast Guard graduation

Under bright sunshine in New London, Connecticut, Joe Biden addressed the graduating class of the US Coast Guard Academy and found it a tougher crowd than he was expecting.

Delivering remarks to the class of 2021, the president thanked them for “choosing the more difficult path” than many others during a challenging time.

In the more light-hearted first half of the speech, a genial Mr Biden made a number of jokes, though some were better received than others.

Praising graduates in the first commencement speech of his presidency, he noted that one of the more difficult challenges they had faced was “getting a haircut that showed every damn bump on your head”.

A joke at the expense of the Navy landed flat, receiving a more subdued response.

“You’re a really dull class,” Mr Biden quipped in response. “I mean, come on, man, is the sun getting to you?”

His mocking of the crowd received the laughter and applause he was hoping for.

In the more serious portion of his remarks, the president said that hybrid threats do not stop at the border and the Coast Guard excels at meeting such threats, also noting that the US stands “at a significant inflection point in world history”.

He outlined how the Coast Guard is an “increasingly central element in our engagement in the Indo-Pacific region” and how in recent weeks its vessels had “faced harassment from Iranian fast-attack boats”.

The speech cast the service as a defender of global rules, trade, and marine law, and the president specifically mentioned the South China Sea and the Arctic as examples of where this was most current, thereby calling out Russia and China.

In the Arctic, he noted the need for the inclusion of “indigenous communities who are the keepers of traditional knowledge about the Arctic waters”.

He also told graduates: “Every member of our armed forces should feel safe and respected in the ranks. That’s why my administration is committed to taking on the scourge of sexual assault and harassment in the military.”

Rounding out his remarks to the graduating class, he said: “You’re the most progressive, best educated, least prejudiced, most open generation in American history.”

“We need you badly,” he concluded. “That's not hyperbole. The country needs you. You're ready. It's time to get underway.”

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