FORMER VICE-PRESIDENT of the United States and current presidential candidate, Joe Biden, appears to have put his foot in it while speaking at a Democratic forum in Iowa.

The Democratic candidate has Irish roots, and has proudly referenced his ancestry throughout his career, even going as far as using 'No Malarkey' as his campaign slogan-- an old-fashioned Irish-American term that would rarely be used in Ireland, but a semi-Irish term nonetheless.

But it seems his attempt to reference his roots has backfired this time, as he allegedly told audiences in the Democratic Forum that "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid".

As first reported by JOE.ie, the editor of the US edition of The Guardian, Dublin-born John Mulholland, first claimed Biden made the comments when he wrote on Twitter:

'Joe Biden at a forum for Democratic candidates in Iowa "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid." Wonder what Irish people (like me) would make of that.'


Joe Biden at a forum for Democratic candidates in Iowa "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid." Wonder what Irish people (like me) would make of that. #Teamsters2020 — john mulholland (@jnmulholland) December 7, 2019

Mulholland's claim has raised some hackles to say the least, as it appears Biden is implying that Irish people are inherently a bit thick. Which, you know, isn't really fair-- or true-- and could alienate the Irish-American voting demographic.

The Democratic candidate allegedly made the comments at the Teamsters Democratic forum, where he appeared alongside other presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders, who lost out on the 2015 candidacy to Hillary Clinton.

Biden, whose mother was born Catherine Finnegan, has roots in Louth and Derry.

He is yet to respond to the allegations or to either confirm or deny that he made the comments.