US President Biden's reportedly more benevolent relations with the press surfaced again on Sunday when reporters approached him on a tarmac in Delaware to ask about what he personally was giving up for Lent, which led to another discussion about his passion for ice cream and sweets.
"I gave up all sweets for Lent, you have no idea how hard it is for me," the president said in response to a reporter's question about what he gave up for Lent, as the White House journalists chuckled.
In a follow-up question, the reporter wondered, "What's the first sweet you're looking forward to having?"
"Ice cream," Biden said.
“Gave up all sweets for Lent,” Biden told us before boarding AF1 in Delaware. “You have no idea how hard it is for me.” Misses Ice cream, he says. pic.twitter.com/FomrpiHKyd
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 28, 2021
Some social media users criticized the White House press for being insufficiently hard on the president compared to his predecessor and thus falling short of journalism standards.
Wow, this is real hard hitting journalism-ing.
— White Chocolate (@rhodeislander) March 28, 2021
Everything is screwed up, but hey, at least Grandpa Joe can pretend to the be the Daddy Figure that Americans don't need the president to actually be.
As long as he doesn't get two scoops!
— Chris Nodimas🍄 (@CholeraFan) March 28, 2021
Writer for Jr. High school paper interviews local boy band. https://t.co/4KAf781zgU
— Queen Velvet (@TMIWITW) March 29, 2021
Super hard hitting reporting here https://t.co/P5t4o91COI
— Pepe Le Pew Lincoln (@LincolnFresno) March 29, 2021
However, other users defended Biden for being much more "normal".
So dingdang normal. Normal. We have a normal President.
— RunnerGirl (@RunGirlRun60) March 28, 2021
He's so authentic. truly.
— David Weiss 🇺🇸 (@DWeiss36) March 28, 2021
According to Fox News' report, the press encounter was similar to the moment in mid-October when Biden was asked what flavor ice cream he ordered at the height of the scandal surrounding his family's overseas business dealings, specifically his son Hunter's, given the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern US border.
Given that Biden is a prominent ice cream lover, press secretary Jen Psaki unveiled the president's favorite flavor in January.
"When I was in Wilmington before the president was inaugurated, I did ask him for my four-year-old niece Suraya – who was very curious about what his favorite ice cream was – and his favorite ice cream was chocolate chip," Psaki said back then.
Biden himself, for instance, stated back in 2010: "I am a genuine lover of ice cream. I don't drink. I don't smoke. But I eat a lot of ice cream."
