Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jill Biden responds to heckler calling Joe ‘the worst president we’ve ever had’

First lady smiled and said: ‘Thank you! Thank you for your support, thank you!’

Arpan Rai
Sunday 24 July 2022 06:45 BST
Comments
File photo: First lady Jill Biden in the Rose Garden of the White House on 17 May in Washington, DC
File photo: First lady Jill Biden in the Rose Garden of the White House on 17 May in Washington, DC (Getty)

First lady Jill Biden did not bat an eyelid after she was jeered by some bystanders during a visit to Connecticut last week.

“Your husband is the worst president we have ever had. You owe us gas money,” one man shouted at Dr Biden when she was entering the Arethusa Farms ice cream shop in New Haven.

Flanked by her security personnel, Dr Biden smiled at the group, which consisted of at least seven people, and said: “Thank you! Thank you for your support, thank you!” She then walked away.

A second heckler can be heard saying: “you suck!”

Visuals of the incident show the first lady pausing after she hears the jeers instead of simply ignoring it and walking away. Her response to those heckling her and criticising president Joe Biden also prompted some chuckles from those around her.

Sharing photos from Dr Biden’s visit, Arethusa Farms took to Instagram and said the company was “extremely honoured and humbled” by the first lady’s visit.

Dr Biden was in Connecticut on Wednesday with education secretary Miguel Cardona and Connecticut governor Ned Lamont for the national summer learning tour for children who have suffered learning loss.

Governor Lamont also shared photos of Dr Biden’s visit and said: “Discovered today that FLOTUS and I share two common loves: teaching kids and ice cream.”

Dr Biden’s visit came a day before the White House confirmed that her husband had tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from a four-day trip to the Middle East.

Two weeks earlier, Mr Biden was also interrupted by the father of a Parkland shooting victim during a White House event celebrating the passage of a bipartisan gun safety bill.

Manual Oliver, who lost his son Joaquin in the mass school shooting in 2018, stood up during the president’s speech on 11 July.

“Despite the naysayers, we can make meaningful progress on dealing with gun violence,” Mr Biden said during his speech on Monday.

“We have to do more than that!” Mr Oliver shouted as Mr Biden spoke about the new measures.

“Let me finish my comments,” Mr Biden first said, but then added: “Let him talk, let him talk.”

Footage from the event showed that Mr Oliver was then asked to leave the area.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in