President Joe Biden’s remarks were no match for a crying toddler on Friday, but the White House crowd’s reaction to a joke about his speech drowned out the wailing interruptions.
Biden, who hosted the NCAA championship-winning University of Connecticut men’s basketball team at the White House, was halfway reflecting on a conversation he had with the president of the university, Radenka Maric, when the child rang in the audience.
“I used to tell the president of the university that when I was in school… It’s okay, she has the right to do whatever you want. The kids rule my house,” Biden said, drawing attention to the crying.
The crowd’s laughter, however, didn’t stop the crying, so Biden softened his voice for the toddler.
“What’s the matter? What’s the matter? I don’t blame you; I’m bored with me too,” he joked.
Twitter users were quick to compare Biden’s exchange with the child to remarks by former President Donald Trump, who called on a parent to ‘get the baby out of here’ when he heard crying in the crowd from a campaign rally in 2016.
“Don’t worry about this baby. I love babies, I love babies. I hear this baby crying, I like it…don’t worry,” he said at first.
But Trump later said, “Actually, I was kidding. You can get the baby out of here.
“Character matters,” wrote Chris D. Jackson, an election commissioner from Tennessee, in a tweet accompanied by a clip of Trump’s remarks.
CNN’s Ana Navarro, in another tweet, also wrote that Biden was a “good human being” for his interaction with the crying baby.
You can see more reactions, including comparisons between Biden and Trump, in the posts below.