President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden stopped by a middle school in Washington to welcome students back to school, and they were met with excited reactions and a few awkward exchanges.
The president walked into an eighth-grade math class at Eliot-Hine Middle School, where one student proclaimed loudly, “Joe Biden!” Joe Biden hugged one female student who was thrilled to see the president when he asked her if she was interested in becoming president one day.
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Joe Biden held hands with the excited student as the first lady stood nearby.
He then continued his back-to-school talk with the students.
"The hardest thing, I think, is when you come back —" the president paused, looking a female student in the eye. "What's the matter, baby?"
The student laughed, and Biden continued his talk to the class.
"The hardest thing is to come back after three months of not doing any work, not doing any homework, and all of a sudden, you have a lot to make up. You have a lot to catch up from the end of the last year," he said.
He asked the students, “What’s your hardest subject?”
They shouted, “Math.”
The first lady wished the students a "great school year."
She added that if they are “struggling at home,” they should "trust" their teachers.
The Bidens were seen greeting seventh graders following their lunch break.
Biden repeatedly coughs into his hand — then goes right back to shaking hands with back-to-school students in Washington, D.C. pic.twitter.com/s15mM7vp9N
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The president repeatedly coughed into one of his hands while shaking hands with the students walking down the stairs.
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Washington-area doctors have been warning parents as they prepare their children to return to school about the uptick of COVID-19 cases in urgent care doctor offices and hospitals in the region due to summer travel. Physicians are encouraging students to isolate, watch for symptoms, get tested, and wear a mask if found to test positive.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee, and Principal Marlene Magrino were in attendance at the president's visit. The middle school was built in 1931 and has about 300 Washington students.