Papua New Guinea’s prime minister set the record straight on Monday, denouncing President Biden’sweird implication that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in the island nation. In a statement given to the Associated Press, prime minister James Marape rebuffed Biden for casting the people of Papua New Guinea as man-eaters. “President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such,” Marape said. Last week, President Biden had shared a story about his Army Air Corps uncle who was shot down over Papua New Guinea in the 1940s, saying, “They never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.” In Monday’s response, Marape said the remains of war continued to litter his island and suggested the U.S. might take in interest in cleaning up its wreckage. “Perhaps,” Marape said, “it is time for the USA to find as many remains of World War II in PNG as possible.”
