Join 350,000+ subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of
The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
The 6 best Onion parodies of Joe Biden
The gaffe-prone veep has long been the butt of The Onion's jokes. Here's a look at some of the satirical newspaper's best work
Vice President Joe Biden's — shall we say, charismatic — personality has given The Onion quite a lot of fodder to fill its pages. Over the years, the satirical paper has painted a hilarious portrait of Biden as a cheap-beer-swilling, guitar-shredding, lady-killing, unpredictable vice president who often reminisces about his sexual exploits and wears a ponytail. Today, to commemorate more than four years of freewheelin' coverage of good ol' Uncle Joe, The OnionreleasedThe President of Vice, an e-book "autobiography" of Biden, in the Kindle Singles store on Amazon. The New York Times published a short excerpt:
"Hombre, you've just done Uncle Joe a real solid buying this book," begins the foreword to a new autobiography attributed to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. "I ain't the kind of guy who forgets his debts. Next time we meet there's a tallboy of ice cold Beast on me. And if you're a lady, I know a few tricks to repay you with interest, if you catch my drift." [New York Times]
Thirsty for more? Here's a look back at six of The Onion's best Joe Biden parodies:
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Choice quote: "According to other Dave & Buster's employees, Biden has not historically respected the bans that have been placed on him. After he was barred from the Tempe, Ariz., location in 2007, the former senator would reportedly do burnouts in the parking lot with his Trans Am while waiting to pick up a waitress employed there at the time, a woman identified only as 'Candi.'"
Choice quote: "Dressed in a slightly ripped Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt, Biden tapped the top of an Icehouse tallboy, cracked it open, and then informed the 20,000 people in attendance that while the economy is no longer hemorrhaging jobs as it was in 2008, nothing, 'not even that little trip I took to Thailand in '92,' could ever live up to the unforgettable months of June through August 1987, when 'the skirts were short, the brews were cold, and you couldn't walk 2 feet without stepping into some grade-A tang.'"
Making sense of the week's political news, delivered every Wednesday
Choice quote: "Taking advantage of the warm spring weather Monday, Vice President Joe Biden parked his 1981 Trans Am in the White House driveway, removed his undershirt, and spent a leisurely afternoon washing the muscle car and drinking beer. 'This baby just needs a little scrub down,' said Biden, addressing a tour group as he tucked the sweat-covered top into the belt loop of his cutoff jean shorts. 'Gotta get her looking good so I can impress the chicks when I'm cruising down Pennsylvania [Avenue].' White House aides said that Biden pulled into the driveway shortly before noon, the chorus of Night Ranger's '(You Can Still) Rock In America' blaring from his car's stereo."
Choice quote: "According to highway sources, Biden, an avid hitcher throughout his 39-year political career, could be seen throughout much of the day perched on the southbound shoulder of I-85, wearing a Marlboro windbreaker and aviator sunglasses as he waved a handwritten cardboard 'Goin' My Way?' sign. 'Man I love just getting out here, throwing a thumb into the wind, and seeing who has the cojones to pull over,' said the vice president, flashing a disarming smile."
Choice quote: "'Things got pretty hairy there for a minute, but I been through rougher shit than this by a mile,' said Biden, whose voice suddenly dropped to a whisper as he glanced over his shoulder at passing cantina-goers. 'Plus, Raúl owes me big time, so he's letting me crash on his couch until I can figure out an angle on this. I just need to ride things out until the dust settles.'"
Choice quote: "'There's no better way to pay homage to our fallen brothers than by letting it rip, hitting that ramp at full fucking blast, and flying through the sky high above the Vietnam Memorial,' said Biden, noting that he also plans to execute a midair salute by placing his fingers around his mouth in a V shape and rapidly flicking his tongue. 'If I grease the landing and ragdoll across the Constitution Gardens, so be it. I've had my share of spills.'"
Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
