Biden slammed for joking about ice cream in first appearance following Nashville shooting
WASHINGTON (TND) — President Joe Biden was blasted by critics for joking about chocolate chip ice cream and being "Dr. Jill Biden's husband" during his first appearance following Monday's deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
"My name is Joe Biden. I'm Dr. Jill Biden’s husband," Biden said from the White House's East Room, after taking the microphone at his first public appearance since a 28-year-old woman entered a private Christian school in Nashville and shot and killed three students and three teachers.
"I eat Jeni's ice cream — chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream," he continued. "By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think I'm kidding? I'm not."
The president's appearance, though not scheduled to address the situation in Nashville, was his first after the shooting occurred.
Biden continued to make a few more lighthearted jokes following his ice cream comments, including remarks about his sister and a group of "good looking kids" present in the East Room.
The decision not to immediately address the tragic events in Nashville surprised Fox News hosts Sandra Smith and John Roberts, who were both covering Biden's appearance at the White House Monday.
"Considering the moment, the shooting that just happened left three children dead, three adults dead, shooter dead, and we were told he would be addressing this off the top," Smith said, butting into the newscast following Biden's continued light hearted comments and failure to address what occurred in Nashville.
"Yeah, it's rather surprising," Roberts added. "I thought that a somber President Biden would've come to the podium here and addressed the school shooting — he's yucking it up with the crowd at the East Room, so why don't we dump out of this and when the president decides that he's going to address this we'll jump back into it."
Biden eventually did turn his attention to the tragic school shooting in Nashville, calling it "sick" and "heartbreaking."
He also called on Congress to do more to "stop gun violence," arguing it was "ripping at the very soul of our nation."
However, critics still lambasted Biden for his lighthearted jokes and remarks made ahead of any recognition of the tragedy which took place just a few hours before.
"To say that he misunderstood the moment would be an understatement," former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Fox News. "You know, the president is watching — you would 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 that was looking for chocolate chip ice cream is hardly the way to start it."
