Joe Biden posed in a lifeguard chair and Twitter went nuts

A nation in withdrawal from Joe Biden memes (and pictures of the former vice president just looking jolly) was sated yesterday, when he had a swimming pool named after him and dutifully provided a cute photo op.

On Monday, the swimming pool in Biden’s native Wilmington, Delaware, was redubbed the Joseph R. Biden Sr. Aquatic Center. In his autobiography, Biden wrote about being the pool’s only white lifeguard in 1962, and its effect on his commitment to race relations.

At a press conference after the pool ceremony, Biden said, “I owe you all,” to the audience of African-American children in their swimsuits. “I owe this neighborhood. I learned so, so much.”

“I wanted to get more involved,” Biden told The News Journal. “I’d turn on the television and see and listen to Dr. King, but I didn’t know any black people. So, I wanted to work here.”

Biden said his dozen black fellow lifeguards “treated me as an equal,” and they taught each other about race and privilege.

“They’d ask me questions — because I really was the only white guy they really knew — about things that just startled me,” said Biden. “I remember one lifeguard asked if I had a five-gallon can for gasoline. I said ‘No I don’t. But what do you need it for?’ He said, ‘I’m going down to see my grandmom in North Carolina. We can’t stop at most gas stations. They won’t let us stop at most gas stations.’ I learned a lot.”

At the pool renaming event, Biden sat in the lifeguard chair and Twitter went wild.

Here’s a picture of Joe Biden, wearing a suit, sitting in a lifeguard chair. pic.twitter.com/XfJLi7Wgjf

— Adam Smith (@asmith83) June 27, 2017

Metaphor for @JoeBiden saving America from drowning? https://t.co/qzODb2k7Sp

— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) June 26, 2017

The only surprising thing about this photo is that @JoeBiden isn’t in a red speedo and lifeguard bro-tank. https://t.co/ZewsyhnXbn

— Steven Haderer (@stevenhaderer) June 26, 2017