The State of the Union address on Tuesday marked the first major event since the White House announced President Joe Biden would no longer need to wear a mask in public.
Sadly, the president appeared to take his newfound freedom a little too far.
After the speech, Biden was greeting some fellow Democratic politicians.
One interaction took a strange turn when he appeared to slowly headbutt a woman, identified as California Rep. Jackie Speier.
This is not normal. pic.twitter.com/JKRmIVskye
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 2, 2022
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This greeting was uncomfortable for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, it was simply awkward.
Touching foreheads is not how most people greet one another, at least not in the United States. A simple handshake would have easily sufficed.
Second, Biden’s actions represented a complete disregard for the public health he has so strongly advocated for.
To be fair, the White House did implement a policy on Tuesday lifting its mask mandate, NBC News reported. Officials claimed they were simply following the science.
“As we have over the course of the past year, we will continue to update and adjust our COVID-19 campus protocols in response to the public health landscape and in consultation with public health experts and medical advisors, and we will circulate updated guidance as appropriate,” an email announcing the new policy said.
Even so, Biden apparently was so worried about COVID-19 that he felt the need to wear a mask while walking alone outside on Monday.
Biden wearing an N95 mask while walking outdoors alone.
Trust science™ pic.twitter.com/sxD8H2VLkY
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) February 28, 2022
Did the science change so much in just over 24 hours that the president felt justified to breathe directly into a woman’s face without wearing a mask?
Twitter users pointed out that Biden’s actions would not have been appropriate even before COVID-19 but were even less so after he spent more than a year virtue signaling about the virus.
They let Joe Biden out of a mask for the first time in two years and he’s head butting people now. Is it too much to ask our politicians just not to be weird? pic.twitter.com/Hw4TGXNmno
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 2, 2022
I don’t think this was okay even pre-pandemic https://t.co/3lSEyq9NrU
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 2, 2022
Finally, this incident is even more creepy in light of Biden’s previous disturbing interactions with women and girls.
Throughout his career, he has creepily approached, sniffed and touched females during political appearances.
Joe Biden loves to snif young girls … he has a thing going on with that. pic.twitter.com/WYo398IWNU
— Angels are descending on Washinton DC (@wrigme51) July 9, 2020
What’s with biden’s handsy,overly familiar, intrusive behaviour..why can’t he keep his hands off….just looking at him makes me feel sick pic.twitter.com/AyftIgRW52
— Amber.K (@AmberX994874) July 13, 2021
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Under fire over his behavior in 2019, he apologized and said he would be “more mindful about respecting personal space in the future.”
Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it. pic.twitter.com/Ya2mf5ODts
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 3, 2019
Given his history, Biden has lost the benefit of the doubt when it comes to interactions with women.
This gaffe was inappropriate for a myriad of reasons, and it was just one of many he made on Tuesday night.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.