First Lady Jill Biden committed an inadvertent “umbrella assault” against Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell during her visit to Tennessee, which was reportedly aimed at securing endorsements from the country music “influencer” community at an event held by country music artist Brad Paisley.
Video appears to show O’Connell being poked by the umbrella before deftly maneuvering around and underneath the umbrella as Biden raised it higher to avoid a second attack.
“Jill Biden attacks Nashville’s mayor” wrote one social media user in a post viewed more than 80,000 times.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
Jill Biden attacks Nashville's mayor pic.twitter.com/tZEbGJEJJd
— Ben Weddle (@ben__weddle) February 10, 2024
O’Connell acknowledged the incident in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, where he suggested he was in the middle of speaking with the First Lady when her umbrella poked him in the head.
The mayor joked that he was asking the First Lady a question when the umbrella incident occurred, prompting him to finish with a query about pizza. O’Connell referred to the incident as an “umbrella assault.”
“Dr. Biden, your personal concern for Nashville has been wonderful, and it’s obvious how the [White House] agenda has been good for cities, but I wonder if you’ve heard the concerns about…” wrote O’Connell, indicting the “umbrella assault” happened mid-sentence. He joked that he ended his question, “…sorry, the concerns about pizza in east Nashville versus [West Hollywood]?”
“Dr. Biden, your personal concern for Nashville has been wonderful, and it’s obvious how the @WhiteHouse agenda has been good for cities, but I wonder if you’ve heard the concerns about…”
*umbrella assault*
“… sorry, the concerns about pizza in East Nashville versus WeHo?” https://t.co/08nH3bY0rn
— Freddie O’Connell (@freddieoconnell) February 10, 2024
Biden landed in Nashville on Friday for an unspecified “political event” in nearby Franklin, and it is not immediately clear if the unfortunate “umbrella assault” happened upon the First Lady’s landing or departure.
It was reported Biden traveled to Nashville to attend an event for country music “influencers” at Paisley’s home which The Tennessee Lookout originally reported was aimed at securing “potential endorsements of President [Joe] Biden.”
Paisley and the First Lady previously promoted COVID-19 vaccines together in 2021, and more recently, Paisley performed for the Biden family and a bipartisan audience gathered at the East Wing in early 2023.
During that concert, Paisley reportedly modified the lyrics for one of his songs to include a reference to the Ukrainian flag, which The Guardian claimed elicited fierce applause from Joe Biden. Paisley also performed a pro-Ukraine song that includes the voice of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in its studio release.
The news that the Biden family may be actively seeking endorsements from country music artists comes amid speculation Taylor Swift intends to endorse the Democratic incumbent prior to the November elections.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Umbrella Assault” by Ben Weddle.
So now we call them Country Music Influencers. What ever happened to Country Music? What ever happened to artists like Waylon, Merle, Kitty, Patsy, Hank and others who understood and sang about the everyday troubles of their fan base? Instead we now have influencers, or should I say Hippocrates selling products they don’t believe in to fans they wouldn’t give the time of day should they meet on the streets. And now we have Brad singing about Ukraine and supporting Jill. So Brad, if you’re so pro-Ukraine why not enlist in the Ukrainian military and spend some time in the trenches under mortar and artillery fire. It’s probably a little to real for you Brad, but it’s perfectly ok for someone else’s son, or daughter to go. And why is that? Well, it’s because they’re normal people, not influencers like you and Taylor.
Elder Abuser
Maybe it will knock some sense into Freddie The Freeloader, but I doubt it. He’ll probably ban umbrellas within the city limits, by Wednesday.
She should be home taking care of her husband…..