How clumsy! First Lady Jill Biden begs for applause after the line in the speech fell flat with the Washington DC audience
- First Lady Jill Biden, 71, spoke at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education as she suffered the gaffe when she spoke about uniting both sides of the political aisle
- “I’ve visited red states and blue states and I’ve found that the common values that unite us go deeper than our divisions,” she said, followed by silence
- Biden suffered a similar blunder in 2019 when her ‘applause line’ fell flat while on her husband’s campaign trail
Jill Biden was left in silence, begging for a response after a tough mob failed to respond as the First Lady had hoped.
Biden, 71, was speaking at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education on Thursday when she suffered the gaffe as she spoke about uniting the right and left.
“I’ve visited red states and blue states and I’ve found that the common values that unite us go deeper than our divisions,” she said, followed by a silence.
A flash of confusion crossed the First Lady’s face before she strides into the awkward silence and jokes, “And, um, I thought you’d applaud for that.”
This wasn’t the first time Biden suffered an awkward pause during her speech. In 2019, the professor’s “applause line” fell short in Iowa after she promised her husband would take on the NRA.
First Lady Jill Biden, 71, was speaking at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education when she suffered the blunder while talking about similarities between the right and the left
A flash of confusion crossed the First Lady’s face before she accepted the awkward silence with long strides and joked, “And, um, I thought you’d applaud for that.”
“Finally someone is standing up to the NRA and keeping our kids and our schools safe,” she said in her husband’s time.
She was met with blank stares and a hushed audience before she held out her arms and said, “That’s my line of applause, come on.”
The audience instantly lit up and laughed beside Biden as she continued her speech.
Biden suffered a similar blunder (pictured) in 2019 when her ‘applause line’ fell flat while on her husband’s campaign trail
Her two gaffes were reminiscent of former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s awkward moment in 2016 when he begged the audience to “please clap.”
As he laid out what he believed America needed in a president—including a “quieter” one—the audience seemed to be mistaken as to what he meant, as no one applauded during the pause in his speech.
While Bush shoved away the cornerstone of his speech, telling the audience that he was “back to creating a more peaceful world,” the audience didn’t respond.
Unlike Biden, who laughed off the moment, Bush seemed more annoyed and sternly requested that the audience applaud him.
Biden, an English teacher at Northern Virginia Community College, attended the RISE conference, which hosts educators from across the country. This year’s conference focused on “America’s recovery and resilience,” according to the Reagan Foundation.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and educator Sal Khan, including congressmen and education secretaries, have participated in the event over the years.
Biden had previously competed in the event in 2018 when she was the Second Lady.
The First Lady thanked the Reagan Institute on Twitter for allowing her to speak despite her blunder, writing, “Thank you @ReaganInstitute for bringing leaders from across the country together to talk about the future of education. Creating pathways to high-paying jobs is not a red issue or a blue issue – it’s an American issue that we can all unite on.”