Jill Biden drags Joe onstage to pose with dragon dance group - but says no ... trends now
First lady Jill Biden coaxed President Joe Biden onstage Thursday evening at the White House during a Lunar New Year celebration to mark the conclusion of a dragon dance performance.
'Are you going to dance?' the president asked the first lady as the troupe ended their performance and there was an awkward pause.
'No, you're going to come up. ... Come on up Joe! No, you're not going to dance,' Dr. Biden replied, as the president teased he might do so. 'Believe me, you don't want to ruin the evening.'
Dr. Biden then invited the audience to a reception and expertly walked between her husband and reporters as they shouted questions about the documents debacle and whether he'd allow the FBI to search their Rehoboth Beach home.
The president touted that the White House was hosting the 'first Lunar New Year reception of this scale' during the Thursday evening affair and added that he had received California Rep. Judy Chu's blessing to hold the joyous event - in the aftermath of two mass shootings that took place in Asian-American communities.
'I spoke with Judy several days ago. I said, "Judy what should I do? Should I continue - should I be in California or should I still have this celebration?" And she felt very strongly,' the president said. 'She said we have to move forward. Her message was don't give into fear and sorrow. Don't do that. Stand in solidarity and the spirit of toughness, that's what this holiday is all about.'
President Joe Biden watches the Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe perform a dragon dance at the White House's Lunar New Year celebration Thursday evening
Dr. Biden had coaxed her husband back onstage at the conclusion of the troup's performance - but jokingly told him no dancing
President Joe Biden greet attendees Thursday as he departs the Lunar New Year event, but didn't answer any reporters' questions about the classified document debacle
Across the country, Lunar New Year celebrations have been marked with sadness after a gunman killed 11 people in Monterey Park, California at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, after an all-day Lunar New Year festival was held in an adjacent street on Saturday.
Chu represents Monterey Park in the House.
The shooter, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, then tried to kill more people at the nearby Lai Lai Ballroom, but a worker scared him off.
Biden said he had called 26-year-old Brandon Tsay, who had put a stop to the rampage.
The president remarked that Tsay had 'followed his courage.'
'It's pretty profound,' Biden noted.
The gunman was found dead in his car of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The incident, while not racially
