Here's What Joe Biden Is Giving Up For Lent

President Joe Biden's love for ice cream and sweets is legendary, so much so that we can't imagine him ever meeting an ice cream he didn't like (via Columbus Monthly). As University of Cincinnati political science Professor David Niven told Columbus Monthly, "You have to appreciate the Joe Biden mastery of the ice cream cone. Because there's always a cone. It's not a cup. And yet he's never, ever getting it on his tie. I mean, imagine how well-known a photo would be if he had one of those scoop-fell-off-the-cone kinds of moments. Yet that never happens. This is a guy who knows his way around an ice cream cone." 

Columbus Monthly's Suzanne Goldsmith also weighed in, writing, "If it is creamy and frosty and sweet, Joe Biden is all about it. The man has been photographed with a cone in his hand so often, one wonders how many hours a day he spends on the treadmill to burn it all off." Which is why those of us who have had to give up something we love for something as personally significant as a religious occasion can appreciate the weight of the president's decision to take a break from one of his life-long loves.

The day after he delivered his first State of the Union address, and when he appeared before the White House press corps with the telltale smudge of ash on his forehead, reporters asked the president what he was planning to give up for the 40-day-long Lenten fast. Biden responded, "All sweets. You know me," he said, "I start off with dessert." And when pressed, Biden said, "No ice cream. Nothing," per America Magazine.

Ice cream is so important to the president that before his first Presidential debate against his predecessor, Donald Trump, Biden made ice cream a part of his pre-debate prep, tweeting, "I've got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready," with a photo showing a pair of earpods and a pint of Jeni's Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks (via Columbus Monthly). 

We can imagine the president will likely miss his ice cream as he goes into a particularly heavy period of his administration. The war between Russia and Ukraine is weighing heavily on his mind, and when he talked about giving up his ice cream, he also mentioned he was with Catholic Cardinal Wilton Gregory who gave him ashes, as they both prayed for the people of Ukraine. As Jimmy Kimmel joked, " ... if Joe goes a month without his Rhum Butter Brickle, my goodness, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's in trouble."