Thursday morning, while delivering remarks at an event in Washington, D.C., the First Lady Jill Biden provoked applause from the audience.
It was reminiscent of previous instances in American political history in which a person was embarrassed after delivering what they believed to be an applause-worthy remark, only to have to plead for applause.
Biden addressed the audience at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education, which also featured several former education secretaries.
During her remarks, she at one point said, “I’ve visited red states and blue states and I’ve found that the common values that unite us are deeper than our divisions.”
Biden appeared to be waiting for a response from the audience.
She then said, “I thought you might clap for that.”
Those in attendance then applauded her performance.
FLOTUS: "I've found that the common values that unite us are deeper than our divisions… I thought you might clap for that." pic.twitter.com/S5If9EFRRu
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 25, 2023
The humiliating moment of the first lady went viral on Twitter and elicited numerous responses.
For some, it elicited memories of her husband, President Joe Biden, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush requesting acclaim when they believed they deserved it.
Jeb Bush sighting https://t.co/fZnx7IuZvk pic.twitter.com/vo37YDjkMq
— JB (@TheRealJB_33) May 25, 2023
They’re always telling people to praise them. Like Joe Biden’s “Clap, you bastards!” To our troops, no less. 😒
Bro, if you gotta tell them to applaud, you didn’t say or do anything to earn the applause. 🙄 https://t.co/i1M1VOOi7E
— ☘️𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕪 Ƒʉͫcͧкͭιͪηͣ 𝕄𝕔𝔾𝕖𝕖 (@LuckyMcGee) May 25, 2023
Please clap… https://t.co/bpgkPBBZhp
— Kenny5Alive (@kenny5alive) May 25, 2023
The Bush/Biden mantra:
“Please clap 🥴” https://t.co/wNjbNek3c2
— ZNO 🇺🇸 (@RaymondZino) May 25, 2023
What an embarrassment. Only her and her husband have to ask the crowd for an applause it’s sad https://t.co/TGB0qUr6Ay
— Joey Donnoli 🕹 (@joeydonnoli) May 25, 2023
Bush’s moment came in New Hampshire in 2015:
In 2016, Joe Biden dubbed American service members “stupid bastards” for failing to applaud him during a speech.
Jill Biden was invited to the Ronald Reagan-founded annual RISE summit for her work in education.
“We’re grateful to have Dr. Biden joining us at RISE to share her perspective on our nation’s education system,” the non-profit’s chief marketing officer Melissa Giller said in a statement. “Her years of experience as an educator and a national leader on this issue will offer valuable insights to the discussion.”