Biden jokes about ice cream when addressing school shooting

OAN Roy Francis
8:43 AM – Tuesday, March 28, 2023

President Joe Biden faced criticism for his recent remarks after the Nashville school shooting where he made a joke about attending the event because there was ice cream.

In his first appearance after the shooting, Biden introduced himself as “Dr. Jill Biden’s husband” and talked about his favorite ice cream.

“My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband,” Biden said from the White House’s East Room. “I eat Jeni’s ice cream — chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream.”

“By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs,” Biden told the crowd. “You think I’m kidding? I’m not.”

The president did address the shooting, calling it “sick” and “heartbreaking.” He urged Congress to take action and pass a ban on assault weapons. Biden also reminded everyone of the 10-year assault weapons ban he helped pass in 1994 which expired in 2004.

However, he went back to discussing ice cream just after expressing his concerns about the shooting, complementing Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream.

“The businesses represented in this room stretch across industries, from restaurants to architectural firms to hardware stores, plus Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. And by the way,” he said. “By the way, it is splendid.”

“If I were allowed to take you upstairs, you got a whole freezer full of Jeni’s chocolate chip ice cream,” Biden went on. “You know it’s pretty dull when you’ve been in public life as long as I have and you’re known for two things: chocolate chip ice cream and Ray-Bans sunglasses, but what the hell.”

Biden’s seemingly inappropriate reaction and playful tone regarding the tragedy was criticized by many. According to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, “to say that he misunderstood the moment would be an understatement. The president is watching, and you’d hope before he comes down there, the awful scenes from the shooting and the reactions of family members and friends of people in that school. And to be coming down, joking about the fact that he’s Jill Biden’s husband and looking for chocolate chip ice cream is hardly the way to start it.”

Christie also criticized Biden for “playing politics” in a situation where parents and students across the country are still dealing with the impact of the tragedy.

The shooting took place at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, resulting in the deaths of three students and three adults. The shooter was also shot and killed by law enforcement who responded to the scene.

For free breaking news alerts, subscribe to OAN using this link.

with Phil Bicocchi

with Keelin Darby

with Kari Lake

with Joe Kent

By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean social media giant Kakao’s stake in K-pop agency SM Entertainment has reached 40%, the target…

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s cyberspace regulator vowed on Tuesday to clamp down on malicious online comments that damage the reputation of businesses and…

By Nick Carey LONDON (Reuters) – Oxbotica and Alphabet Inc’s Google Cloud said on Tuesday they are partnering up to speed up…

By Makiko Yamazaki, Mariko Katsumura and Ritsuko Shimizu TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese construction company targeted for takeover by the family office…