Call it the yuck of the Irish.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earned eye rolls Thursday by reading a St. Patrick’s Day poem by Irish musician Bono that declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a modern-day version of Ireland’s patron saint.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) read the poem near the conclusion of the Friends of Ireland luncheon at the Capitol after the U2 lead singer shared it with her earlier Thursday.
“Oh St. Patrick, he drove out the snakes with his prayers, but that’s not all it takes,” the speaker read. “With the smoke symbolizes an evil that arises and hides in your heart as it breaks.”
“And the evil risen from the darkness that lives in some men, but in sorrow and fear, that’s when saints can appear,” the verse went on. “You drive out those old snakes once again, and they struggle for us to be free from the psycho in this human family.”
“Ireland’s sorrow and pain is now the Ukraine and St. Patrick’s name is now Zelensky,” the poem concluded, equating the legendary Christian missionary with the Jewish wartime leader.
Pelosi approvingly remarked, “How about that?” after finishing her reading, adding to a nearby Catholic priest: “What, you like that, Father?”
The display earned widespread mockery on social media.
“Cringe levels not previously thought to be attainable,” wrote one Twitter user.
“This is a Saint Patrick’s day hate crime,” wrote Billy Gribbin, a spokesman for Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM).
“It is even worse than you imagined,” tweeted longtime Boston radio host and sports columnist Gerry Callahan. “I can only assume Bono has already gone into hiding or checked into rehab.”
“Democrats will sorely miss Pelosi’s legislative abilities, they will not miss her communication skills,” commented Pennsylvania reporter Nick Field.
“This Bono poem raises a really important question,” tweeted user Drew McCoy. “Who wrote all the lyrics for U2 and why couldn’t he get them to write this for him?”