On Thursday (May 25), First Lady Jill Biden requested an audience to give her applause after failing to get the expected reaction.
“I’ve visited red states and blue states, and I’ve found that the common values that unite us are deeper than our divisions,” the First Lady said before pausing.
With no reaction from the crowd, she added, “I thought you might clap for that,” promoting the audience to comply.
Biden’s remarks were part of the Reagan Institute Summit on Education (RISE) in Washington, D.C. According to the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute, the annual conference hosted education leaders from across the country and, in addition to remarks from the First Lady, this year also included remarks from former Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchison and the Democratic Governor of Maryland Aes Moore.
On the organization’s website for the two-day conference, held on Wednesday and Thursday, RISE described the conference’s purpose as “examining policy and practice from early childhood through postsecondary education and beyond.”
The website stated that education reform was necessary “as the United States emerges from. The global pandemic.”
Several social media users were quick to compare the first lady’s statement to former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who encouraged supporters to “clap” at a campaign event during the 2016 election.
“Awkward,” tweeted one Twitter user.
Another user shared a GIF of Bush asking the crowd to clap in 2016.
Another user tweeted, “Nobody clapped because they don’t believe you.”
WATCH:
JILL BIDEN: "I've found that the common values that unite us are deeper than our divisions!"
*crickets*
"I thought you might clap for that!" pic.twitter.com/UJEhPHyHRi
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 25, 2023
