Article snippet: So the story from Biden goes, gangster “Corn Pop” represented a serious threat to Biden when he was a lifeguard at a community pool. Corn Pop, who actually was real, supposedly carried a straight razor and after an altercation with young lifeguard Biden threatened to meet him in the parking lot later—so young Biden claims he threatened to wrap a chain around Corn Pop’s head. The whole blowup was over Biden allegedly calling Corn Pop “Esther,” a derisive insult drawn from the swimmer Esther Williams that apparently was akin to calling the gangster a girl. But before things devolved into a razor-versus-chain race war in the parking lot later, Biden says he apologized to Corn Pop for the insult, which defused the situation—and the incident has become part of Biden’s political folklore storyline of being a grand negotiator who can calmly lead in tense political situations, especially those involving race. Though it seems an incredible story, Biden included it in his 2007 autobiography and it was a central part of a dedication ceremony at a Delaware public pool at which Biden spoke in 2017. The NAACP even confirmed the details of Corn Pop and his existence for those questioning it. So when moderator Anderson Cooper at the end of the CNN-New York Times debate on Tuesday night closed down the debate with a question about a unique and different friendship that has shaped their lives, one would have thought the moderators were teeing Biden up for a perfect Corn Pop moment... Link to the full article to read more