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Joe Biden slammed for ‘chocolate chip ice cream’ remark before calling for assault weapon ban

'To say that he misunderstood the moment would be an understatement, said former New Jersey governor Chris Christie

WASHINGTON, DC: President Joe Biden was heavily criticized as he joked about ice cream just before his statement on the Nashville school shooting on Monday, March 27, by 28-year-old trans Audrey Hale who killed three children and three adults at the school. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie slammed the “insensitive” joke made by Biden and said, "To say that he misunderstood the moment would be an understatement."

During the SBA Women's Business Summit at the White House's East Room, on the same day of the deadly attack, Biden began by saying, "My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr Jill Biden’s husband. And I eat Jeni’s Ice Cream, chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream. By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think I’m kidding, I’m not," states White House. The president then turned serious to address the "sick" shooting at the Covenant School and said that the US has to do more about gun violence and stressed that "it's ripping the soul of this nation."

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'Ripping the soul of this nation'

He said, "We’re monitoring the situation really closely — [US Senator Ben Cardin], as you know — and we have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation — ripping at the very soul of the nation.  And we — we have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons." Biden also called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban as he said, "You know, the shooter in this situation reportedly had two assault weapons and a pistol — two AK-47."

However, Christie told Fox News, "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. 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 added, "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. And so there’s no room to joke in that circumstance at all. And certainly not from the President of the United States."

'Worst moment in presidential history'

Apart from Christie, there were others too who bashed Biden for his ice cream statement. One wrote, "So while some families are going to be destroyed forever. Joe Biden makes today a joke and talks about ice cream. Nice." Another wrote, "What a complete lack of dignity and respect!" while one more commented, "That might be the worst moment in presidential history." Many continued to call him an "embarrassment."

But an individual named Kristi Hines was quick to point out and called the remark for which Biden got slammed, "misleading." She said, "Biden is not talking about ice cream before addressing the Nashville shooting. He makes those remarks at a Women’s Business Summit. It starts around the 11 minute mark." And added, "My actual point is the ice cream comments were not for a press conference on the shooting. It’s for a women’s business event." "He’s not just there to address the shooting - he’s there for another event," she tweeted. However, one said, "I wish he had held a separate conference for the shooting. Not only because it was disrespectful to mix the two, but also because there were children at this one whose parents might have preferred they not be in the room."

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