President Joe Biden was ripped as “tone deaf” for the “little stand up routine about ice cream” he performed before making a statement about Monday’s Nashville school shooting that took six lives.
Fox News had cut away from live coverage of mass shooting at a Christian elementary school, where suspected attacker, Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as transgender, went on a rampage that took the lives of three nine-year-old students and three staff members.
“My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband,” the elderly president told a Small Business Administration Women’s Business Summit held in the White House East Room at 3:00 pm. “And 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, but I’m not.”
He then took a moment to shout out his “pal,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who he described as “one of the best guys in the United States Congress.”
Biden greeted his guests, but got distracted by the four “good looking kids” in the back of the room.
Fox News anchors were shocked by Biden’s commentary, “considering the moment.”
“The school shooting that just happened left three children dead, three adults dead, shooter’s dead, and we were told he would be addressing this off the top,” remarked the female newscaster.
“Yeah, it’s rather surprising, I thought that a somber President Biden would have come to the podium here and addressed the school shooting,” the male anchor concurred.
A Twitter user who shared the video noted that “Fox quickly cut to Biden to hear him speak about today’s shooting in Nashville but instead Biden decided it was time for a little stand up routine about ice cream.”
“Wow. Tone deaf m’fer,” replied former Clinton era Senior Military Aide Lieutenant Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson.
“I am wondering why he came out and went on with folksy lines and opining on chocolate chip ice cream,” one person questioned.
“The shooting took place in the morning. And this tape shows 2:44 p.m. Eastern. Did his staff not tell him before this news session?”
“Unbelievable. Watched it LIVE. He was briefed before this ice cream rant,” said conservative Baltimore radio host Kimberly Klacik. “The fact that he did any of this is just unbelievable.”
“That might be the worst moment in presidential history,” someone else remarked.
“At least he doesn’t have to worry about “brain freeze,” one person snarked.
Biden did eventually speak about the shooting, which he called “heartbreaking” and a “family’s worst nightmare,” while once again demanding a federal ban of assault weapons.
“We have to do more to stop gun violence; it’s ripping our communities apart — ripping the soul of this nation,” he asserted.
“And we have to do more to protect our schools, so they aren’t turned into prisons.”
“I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapon ban. It’s about time we begin to make some progress, but there’s more to learn,” Biden continued.
Surprisingly, even after speaking about the shooting, the president once again made remarks about 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 — by the way, it is splendid,” he said about the Ohio-based brand.
“If I were allowed to take you upstairs, you got a whole freezer full of Jeni’s chocolate chip ice cream.”
“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 concluded.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Fox News that saying Biden “misunderstood the moment” was an “understatement.”
“You know, the president is watching, 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,” Christie began.
“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,” he said about Biden’s remarks.
“There’s no way to talk about something like this except to say that for all of us who are parents, what we dread every day is the news about the health and life of our children,” Christie scolded.
“And so there’s no room to joke in that circumstance at all. And certainly not from the President of the United States.”