Getty Joe Biden nibbling his wife's finger.
In what was an odd campaign moment, former Vice President Joe Biden was photographed nibbling on his wife Jill’s finger. You can see pictures of the finger nibbling throughout this article. You can also watch the video and decide for yourself how big of a deal to make of it.
The moment was captured by professional photographers as the Bidens appeared together at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Iowa campaign stop was part of Biden’s new “No Malarkey!” tour. The moment occurred on Saturday, November 30, 2019.
The jokes flew. “Is it just me or does that pic of @JoeBiden nibbling on his wife’s finger remind you of a horse eating a cube of sugar from their owner’s hand?” wrote one woman on Twitter.
The video shows that, when Jill gestured with her hand during the rally, she almost hit Joe in the face. She started laughing after the brief finger nibbling. Jill continued speaking, nonplussed. Here’s the video.
According to The New York Post, the campaign stop was the start of Biden’s “most intense campaign swing” yet as questions linger about his 2020 presidential campaign. The Iowa caucuses are in February. “The goal is to have him connect with people one-on-one,” campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said to the Post, in a story that ran a couple hours before the nibbling. “It is a very close race as we get close to voting … that was always the expectation.”
No one really knew what to make of it when Biden bent over slightly to nibble on Dr. Biden’s finger when she made the hand gesture from the podium. Some people were terribly confused. In fairness to Biden, it looks a lot weirder in the photos than it does in the video. Arguably.
But why though, Joe?
Here’s another angle of the nibbling moment.
Joe Biden nibbling wife’s finger is now a meme: t.co/kV9rFGRuuO
Some people zoomed in for a closer look at whatever the heck Joe Biden was doing.
Here is JoeBiden, nibbling on his wife’s fingers, on stage, at an Iowa Primary Campaign event.
Can he get any creepier?
People blew up Twitter with comments. Here are some of them:
“I love The Irishman but I hate how people are just tweeting about their favorite part of The Irishman, it reminds me of the way people are tweeting about Joe Biden nibbling his wife’s finger.”
“Stop showing me that photo of Joe Biden nibbling on his wife’s finger. I don’t want to see that sh*t anymore.”
“Joe Biden nibbling his wife’s finger at a campaign rally is exactly the kind of energy I didn’t need tonight.”
“Shoutout to Joe Biden for normalizing nibbling the fingers of the woman you love in public. He’s fighting the good fight.”
Debate Swirled on Social Media About the Finger Nibbling
Me watching @JoeBiden nibbling on his wife’s fingers at one of his recent failed campaign stops in Iowa
People made memes and shared jokes.
“Joe Biden nibbling his wife’s finger is the first relatable thing I’ve seen him do tbh.”
“Not sure which is weirder. Joe Biden nibbling on his wife’s fingers on stage in the middle of a speech, or that he’s using the word ‘malarkey’ in his slogan.”
But some people weren’t buying the finger nibbling controversy, though.
“That video of Joe Biden nibbling playfully on his long time wife’s fingers (shows) more traditional values and affection then I see from the Trump marriage….” wrote a woman.
Joe Biden still leads by an average of 8.7 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics polling average, but other candidates have seen recent surges, challenging his frontrunner status.
Fired up and ready to go for the #NoMalarkey barnstorm!
Biden, of course, has had strange moments many times before where he was accused of encroaching on people’s space, although there’s no word that Jill Biden didn’t like the finger nibbling. Biden has also had awkward campaign rally contact with his wife before. Previously, this video of Dr. Biden pushing his hands down went viral:
Ewww! Creepy Joe strikes again! Please watch this!
Biden touching people in public appearances has earned him the nickname “Creepy Uncle Joe” in some corners.
Some people were sick of that kind of talk. “You people (media and retweeters) who are jumping on Joe Biden nibbling on his wife’s finger are not adding anything of value to this primary. You could still be talking about the issues. It doesn’t say anything about Joe Biden other than he loves his wife. Real campaign ender,” wrote one.
READ NEXT: What The Irishman’s Frank Sheeran Said About Joe Biden.