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NEWS POLITICS

President Biden’s Inappropriate Ice Cream Joke Before Discussing Nashville Shooting Raises Eyebrows

ByAlki David

Mar 30, 2023

President Joe Biden faced criticism on Monday for his unusual choice of words when addressing the recent school shooting in Nashville. Instead of addressing the tragedy directly, he began his speech with a lighthearted remark about ice cream.

Speaking to a group of female business owners in the East Room of the White House, Biden quipped that he had only attended the event because he heard there was going to be ice cream. He went on to mention his favorite flavor and even boasted about having a whole refrigerator full of it upstairs.

The comment quickly drew attention, with many on social media calling it inappropriate and insensitive. Some pointed out that it was particularly insensitive given the gravity of the situation in Nashville, where one person was killed and seven others injured in the shooting at a high school.

After the joke, Biden went on to discuss the shooting and call for stricter gun control measures. However, some critics argued that his opening remarks detracted from the seriousness of the issue and showed a lack of empathy.

This is not the first time Biden has faced criticism for making light of serious issues. During his campaign, he was criticized for making a similar joke about ice cream while discussing the pandemic.

As the country continues to grapple with issues of gun violence and the pandemic, many are calling on the president to show more sensitivity and gravitas when addressing these issues.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.