President Joe Biden made a remark on Wednesday about kids and ice cream, but the comment gave many social media users the shivers — and not in a good way.
The occasion was a White House event marking the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act.
“I want to say one thing to your children,” Biden told the East Room audience, according to a transcript of his speech. “I know some really great ice cream places around here and daddy owes you, so talk to me afterwards.”
The crowd laughed at what appeared to be an unscripted joke, but conservative politicians and journalists didn’t find the comment funny at all.
GOP Texas Sen. Ted Cruz summed up the moment with a cringing emoji and the hashtag “#StrangerDanger.”
Trending:
😬#StrangerDanger https://t.co/l2SKzU3z8J
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 16, 2023
The Spectator’s Stephen Miller went one step further with the label “President Stranger Danger.”
President Stranger Danger https://t.co/pUJrdqtpc1
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 16, 2023
“Exactly how hard is it for Joe Biden to NOT be a complete creep around kids??” Canary CEO Dan K. Eberhart asked, to which one user responded, “Apparently, pretty hard.”
Apparently, pretty hard.
— DepthTested (@Link2Ideas) August 16, 2023
Biden is known for his eyebrow-raising interactions with and comments about children.
In one recent example, the president nibbled a little girl’s back and appeared to sniff her hair during a visit to Finland.
During a speech last year, Biden singled out a member of the crowd and said, “We go back a long way. She was 12, I was 30.”
“She was 12 and I was 30.”
– Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/bmit4z9oqa
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 23, 2022
Biden made a similar comment in June when he hosted actress Eva Longoria at the White House and said he had known her since “she was 17, I was 40.”
The president has on several occasions stopped speeches to address girls in the audience and comment on their age and appearance.
“I love those barrettes in your hair, man,” he said to one girl during a 2021 speech in Virginia. “Look at her. She looks like she’s 19 years old sitting there like a little lady with her legs crossed.”
At an event in Pennsylvania last summer, Biden asked another girl, “How are you, baby? How old are you?” When she answered, he said, “Almost double figures!”
