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Was Joe Biden's 'deer wearing Kevlar vest' remark copied? POTUS slams high capacity guns with ad-lib joke

'Also, Biden stole the Kevlar joke from Robin Williams, A Night at The Met,' said a user

President Biden called on Republicans to join Democrats' efforts for greater gun control in a very interesting manner. During his hour-long address to Congress, the President slammed those defending high-capacity weapons and assault rifles. He called the issue an "epidemic", before asking "what do you think, deer are wearing kevlar vests?"

The moment brought some levity to an otherwise serious topic, and was quickly memed and trolled on social media. As we have come to learn, that line was ad-libbed by the President, it wasn't in his official speech transcript. The Washington Post reporter Annie Linskey was one of the many journalists who confirmed that the line was improvised by the President, when she tweeted, "Biden just ad libbed that line in his gun section, where he pitched his plan to ban assault weapons. "What do you think? Deer are wearing kevlar vests?" Biden said."

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It's unclear how much of the speech was ad-libbed by POTUS, but his question is certainly up there with his best. For context, Biden was calling on the GOP to help push greater gun control legislation. He said, "look, I don't want to become more confrontational. We need more Senate Republicans to join the overall majority of Democratic colleagues and close the loopholes required in background check purchases of guns. We need a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines." Biden then added, "Talk to most responsible gun owners and hunters – they’ll tell you there’s no possible justification for having 100 rounds in a weapon." 

The President was highly critical of gun violence, noting that between the mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, "250 other Americans were shot dead in the streets". He also referred to the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in 1994 under Bill Clinton. It expired in 2004, and was never renewed despite multiple efforts. The kevlar vests question came around 3 minutes into his 4-minute segment and left Twitter in splits. 

'Among his best lines'

Some people, like singer Raffi Cavoukian praised the line and tweeted, "Biden: You think deer wear kevlar vests? (among his best lines tonight.) urging a ban on assault rifles." Others decided to see the funnier side. One user tweeted, "What do you think, deer are wearing Kevlar vests?" Yes, Mr. President" with a photoshopped image. Another joked, "If Bambi’s mom had had this it woulda been a whole different movie. Sadly for him, Kevlar wasn’t invented until 1965."

"I will be dressing as a deer in a Kevlar vest this year for Halloween. a sexy deer, mind you," joked one person. Another shared her hunting photo and said, "I can confirm deer *don’t* wear Kevlar vests." Not everyone saw the funny side though. Some were deeply critical of Biden. One user asked, "What do deer have to do with shooting people threatening my life?" Another panned, "Biden mumbles something about deer wearing Kevlar vests. He's fading fast, folks."

"I understand this is supposed to be some kind of joke, but it just shows how out of touch Biden and all political figures are with an almost $1 Billion industry. FWIW your typical deer hunting round will penetrate Kevlar. It’s not some magic stop all material," another person tweeted. One user claimed, "Also, Biden stole the Kevlar joke from Robin Williams, A Night at The Met."

With the serious tone of his address, the joke did allow many on social media to enjoy a laugh. But jokes aside, the President's call is no laughing matter as thousands continue to die from gun violence in the US yearly.