Dr. Jill Biden accepted the romantic token from her husband and held on to it as she boarded Marine One.
As he marked his 100th day in office on Thursday, President Joe Biden found a way to thank First Lady Jill for being an unwavering source of love and support all these years. In an impromptu show of affection, while walking across the White House lawn to Marine One, the 78-year-old was seen pausing to bend down and pick a dandelion for his wife. Dr. Jill Biden — who was accompanying the president on the trip to a rally in Georgia and a stopover to visit with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter — accepted the romantic token from her husband and held on to it as she boarded the presidential aircraft.
Ever the romantic, President Joe Biden picked a dandelion from the grass and presented it to first lady Jill Biden as they walked across a lawn near the White House to board Marine One pic.twitter.com/dORg9pM0rV
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 30, 2021
While social media reaction to the president's romantic gesture was divided along partisan lines as always, Laura Figueroa Hernandez—the White House pool reporter who broke the news—pointed out that it's moments like these that help chronicle a presidency. "My Twitter mentions are going crazy again because I noted in my pool report that Biden stepped down to pick up a Dandelion for FLOTUS. No, it's not earth-shattering news, but it's the job of the print pooler to note all the details of the president's movements," she tweeted.
President Biden picks a dandelion for first lady Jill Biden while walking to Marine One as they depart for Atlanta to promote his plans to rebuild the US economy and mark his 100th day in office.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 29, 2021
📷 Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
📷 Nicholas Kamm / AFP pic.twitter.com/Ft8W4kozE7
Meanwhile, several Twitter users thoroughly enjoyed seeing the president and first lady share such a heartwarming moment in the midst of their busy schedules. "America’s first couple — President Biden stops to pick a dandelion for [the] FLOTUS. Just letting folks know I can't stop watching this. They are just the best," tweeted Matt Hill, the White House Senior Associate Communications Director. "It's the little things in life that make it worth living," wrote @Watchdogsniffer while @PatsyHennessey tweeted: "Over the years, these little things are what make a marriage last." "I almost cried when I saw this. Simple acts of love and kindness are what really matter," tweeted @bitchylibera_l.
President Biden picked up a dandelion for his wife, Dr. Flotus Biden, before boarding Marine One for Georgia. Chivalry is back in the White House. pic.twitter.com/kOCDDPaWna
— Madam Vice President Harris is GOAT! (@flywithkamala) April 29, 2021
This isn't the first time President Biden, who Reuters rightfully notes is "ever the romantic," has shown his love and appreciation of Dr. Jill through heartwarming gestures. On Inauguration Day, he surprised the first lady with a corsage of white gardenias which Dr. Jill later revealed is a tradition of theirs. "He surprised me with it. It's a tradition," she told PEOPLE in the couple's first White House interview. "I don't know when it started — a long, long time ago. I think it was for Valentine's Day. I love gardenias and so Joe would buy me a wrist corsage of gardenias. I wore it to school to teach!"
I was wondering about that corsage...Jill Biden wore a gardenia as part of a tradition with Joe Biden https://t.co/MrXEXx5V82
— Jura Koncius (@JuraKoncius) February 3, 2021
Adding to what his beloved spouse shared, President Biden explained why he has made it a point to keep up the romantic tradition all these years. He gets his wife of 43 years a corsage for "every single special occasion," he revealed. "It's important to, and Jill does the same thing, let each other know that, no matter how much time goes by... she goes down the steps and—" Here, the 78-year-old, his hand over his heart, tapping, and said: "It still goes a little boom, boom, boom, boom. For real."
Just want to be handed a dandelion like Jill pic.twitter.com/q7laGj5GSa
— sally mae (@joycelyn_corpuz) April 29, 2021
"Jill came along at a really important point and put my family back together," President Biden said of the impact Jill has had on his life. "She's the glue that held it together. I've read all that data about families under pressure. I know everybody says marriage is a 50/50. Well, that's not true. Sometimes you have to be 70/30. Sometimes when somebody's down, the other one steps in. And the good news for us has been — thank God — that when I'm really down, she steps in. And when she's really down, I'm able to step in. And we've been really supportive of one another."