Fact Check: Did Joe Biden Joke About Ice Cream Before Nashville Remarks?

President Joe Biden has been recognized, including by himself, as a "gaffe machine", prone to making inopportune comments or statements in public.

Earlier this week, the president was mocked by Republicans after mistaking Canada for China during an address to the Canadian parliament.

Now, Biden has been accused of making another poorly timed remark, this time ahead of an address following the mass shooting at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, which left six people including three children dead.

The Claim

A tweet by @simonateba, posted on March 27, 2023, viewed 4.1 million times, claimed the president caused "outrage" making a joke about ice cream "while children and adults were massacred in Nashville shooting." It included footage of Biden making the joke.

The Facts

While Biden may have a propensity for awkward comments, his remarks have been taken out of context before. In May 2022, he was said to have remarked "don't jump" to a group of Paralympians, when he was actually speaking to a photographer.

It is true that Biden made light-hearted remarks about ice cream shortly before subsequently turning his attention to the Nashville shooting. The comments have since been published by The White House. But there is some important context to know.

The transcript reads: "Thank you. My name is Joe Biden. (Laughter.) I'm Dr. Jill Biden's husband. (Laughter.) And I eat Jeni's Ice Cream, chocolate chip. (Laughter.) I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream. (Laughter.)"

Shortly after addressing others in the audience, including some children in attendance, the president went on to talk about the school shooting in Nashville.

"Before I begin to speak, and the reason I spent a little time on the kids, I — I just want to speak very briefly about the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee," the president said.

"You know, Ben [Cardin, Democratic senator for Maryland] and I have been doing this our whole careers, it seems. And it's just — it's sick.

"You know, we're still gathering the facts of what happened and why. And we do know that, as of now, there are a number of people who are not going to — did not make it, including children.

"And it's heartbreaking. A family's worst nightmare. And I want to commend the police who repo- — responded incredibly swiftly — within minutes — to end the danger.

"We're monitoring the situation really closely — Ben, 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."

So, Biden did make jokes about ice cream before eventually moving on to talk about Nashville. However, his small business speech was not intended as a direct address about the shooting, and was concurrent with information still coming out of Nashville.

A timeline of the shooting by ABC News shows that police received a call to the Covenant School at around 10:13 a.m.; the suspect was declared dead 14 minutes later.

As stated on the White House website, the president hosted the SBA Women's Business Summit at the White House and began speaking at 2:43 pm EDT. Washington D.C. is an hour ahead of Nashville.

A longer video showed speakers before the president talking about small businesses, jobs, and manufacturing among other topics.

As seen in the video, the moment when Biden made a joke about ice cream (referring to Ohio-based Jeni's Ice Cream, represented at the event) was in keeping with the warm tone of the summit.

Biden then speaks warmly and lightly with others in the audience, before eventually moving on to address the news out of Nashville, changing his tone as he does so.

The clip that was shared on social media, however, did not include this contextual footage preceding the ice cream remarks or after.

The tweet was also inaccurate about the timing of the two events, suggesting his comments were made "while children and adults were massacred in Nashville shooting."

Biden was speaking some time after the incident, although information was still coming to light about what had happened.

Authorities are still establishing the facts about the events at the Covenant School.

Police have confirmed that the shooter was in possession of two assault-style rifles and one handgun. The incident marks the 33rd incident of gunfire on U.S. school grounds this year.

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.

The Ruling

Needs Context.

The president made a joke about ice cream before later making remarks about the Nashville shooting.

However, he was speaking at a small business event at the White House, and the ice cream joke was a reference to a business owner in the room, in keeping with the light tone of the event.

Biden subsequently spoke to some children in the audience, before then addressing the mass shooting, switching tone as he did so. Information was still emerging at the time.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team