A majority of Americans have legitimate concerns about the increasingly apparent decline in President Joe Biden's cognitive capabilities and mental health, and those concerns were exemplified during a live New Year's Eve interview.
While speaking with ABC's Ryan Seacrest during that network's coverage of the New Year's Eve celebration in New York City's Times Square, first lady Jill Biden needed to remind the president that "ice cream" was included among his favorite foods during the holiday season, according to the New York Post.
That is somewhat surprising, given how frequently Biden has publicly proclaimed his deep and abiding love for the frozen treat that he reportedly enjoys year-round and not just during the holidays.
During the exceedingly friendly live interview with the first couple amid the New Year's Eve celebration, former "American Idol" host Seacrest asked President Biden the hard-hitting question, "I’m curious, what sorts of holiday foods have you been enjoying over the last few days?"
"Well, I’ve been eating everything that’s put in front of me," the president replied. "But I’ve eaten pasta, which I love. I’ve eaten a lot of chicken, chicken parmesan. I’ve been eating all Italian foods, basically."
It was at that point that the first lady leaned over and interjected, "And ice cream," to which Biden added, "And ice cream. Chocolate chip ice cream."
Ryan Seacrest asks Joe Biden what he has been eating.
Biden: "I've been eating everything that's put in front of me! I've eaten pasta, which I love. Eaten a lot of chicken, chicken parmesan..."
Then Jill Biden has to remind Joe: "And ice cream!"
Sad. pic.twitter.com/tVROTPFf31
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 1, 2024
Needless to say, that moment sparked plenty of mockery as well as quips of feined and real concerns about President Biden's mental health on social media, according to the Post.
The first lady's ice cream reminder wasn't the only questionable moment during Biden's softball interview with Seacrest, however, as Breitbart reported that some eyebrows were raised about his remarks in response to a question about "what sort of memories, highlights, stand out for you" as 2023 drew to a close.
Biden initially launched into a condensed variation of a story he often tells in speeches about a comment attributed to his father about how "a job’s about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect," before moving on to discuss joblessness and the economy and claim that everything was better now because of him.
"So many people through the Midwest and the center of the country, their factories are shipped overseas the last couple of times out, and they’re losing hope and faith," the president said. "So we put a lot of jobs back to the United States. People are in a position to be able to make a living now and they’ve created a lot of jobs, over 14 million."
"And I guess what -- I just feel good that the American people got up, they’ve been through a rough time with pandemic but now we’re coming back. We're back," Biden added.
President Biden may feel confident that American jobs and prosperity are "back," but that sentiment is not shared by most Americans, according to Breitbart.
In fact, a Wall Street Journal poll found that only 23% of Americans feel Biden's policies have helped them economically, a CNBC poll found that two-thirds of Americans hold a "pessimistic" outlook about the U.S. economy's future, while a Lending Club survey found that more than 60% of Americans continue to live "paycheck to paycheck" -- none of which are emblematic of a strong and vibrant economy or positive financial situation for the country and its citizens.
