President Biden’s approval ratings were extremely low, but during a Thanksgiving Day stop at a New England Coast Guard station, they suddenly hit the numbers.
A man from Nantucket presented Biden’s procession with middle finger on Thursday as the unpopular Commander-in-Chief made the vacation stop while he was on billionaire’s island compound.
Biden’s approval ratings plummet amid the highest inflation in 31 years, which has driven up costs on everything from turkey dinners to gasoline, and he’s been increasingly welcomed with vulgar gestures and chants even when visiting dark blue states.
White House pool reporter Zolan Kanno-Youngs wrote that there was a generally friendly welcome when Biden’s motorcade made the tour, but reporters “spotted a man standing on his front porch overlooking the middle finger at the presidential motorcade as we approached the coast guard station. “
Other spectators raised their thumbs and applauded. “A person seemed [be] wearing a dinosaur costume. A few people wore turkey hats, â€according to a report from the pool.
Biden and First Lady Jill exchanged courtesies with sailors at the resort before returning to their vacation home, which is owned by billionaire David Rubenstein.
The President presented Coast Guard members with “Challenge Coins” that some members of the military collect to commemorate their service.
“I’m not kidding when I say I’m grateful for these guys – I’m grateful for them, and everyone, I mean it from the bottom of my heart,” the president said of the Coast Guard members when he was asked what he was doing. grateful for.
“I observed them in the South China Sea, I observed them in Afghanistan, in Iraq. I have observed them in South America… wherever they are. People wonder what America is? [inaudible] Look and see them. This is who they see. They don’t see us here. They see them. It makes me proud.
Jill Biden told the group the First Family is planning to attend the Massachusetts Island Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Friday.
This year, inflation has pushed the cost of the classic Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and sides up to 14%, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The US Department of Agriculture said last week that the cost of Thanksgiving foods such as turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, milk and potatoes had risen by only 5 percent on average. . It is not known why the tally was lower than the private sector estimate.
Biden has received nasty greetings on other recent trips to the heavily Democratic northeast.
In September, residents of northern Jersey heckled Biden and also fingered his motorcade. “Resign, tyrant! A man shouted as Biden visited a storm-damaged neighborhood.
And last month, Biden told a kid at a Connecticut playground that “I like kids better than people” – as a nearby crowd bellowed “Fk Joe Biden!”
Former President Trump also regularly walked past protesters. In 2007, a DC resident memorably “moon” Trump’s motorcade as he made a trip down Connecticut Avenue from the White House.