A cicada attacked President Biden on an airport runway on Tuesday, but he dealt with it using a reflexive swat and followed up with a warning to the press pack following him around.
The president and dozens of members of the White House press corps were delayed for several hours after the plane set to take them off to cover Biden’s first trip abroad as the area was overrun with the annoying bugs.
"Watch out for the cicadas”
— Jérôme Cartillier (@jcartillier) June 9, 2021
Joe Biden to the White House press pool pic.twitter.com/KxhSqLSWjJ
Per the New York Times, the cicadas had crowded in the plane’s engines. Set to leave New York at 9pm on Tuesday, the insects set the trip back for hours, resulting in a 2:15am departure.
The White House offered the journalists the option to spend the delay - in which a non-cicada-infused plane was sent to the landing pad - either in a hotel room, or enjoying an open bar.
The president himself was then attacked by a cicada. He warned a journalist: “Watch out for the cicadas.”
“I just got one - it just got me,” he said.
One of the all time great presidential transcripts pic.twitter.com/uBwuSOba6v
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) June 9, 2021
Video of him swatting the cicada off his neck - the one that “got him” - has sparked sarcastic rumors that the cicadas were sent by a foreign agent.
The President swats a cicada off of his neck before getting on Air Force One. pic.twitter.com/l0kuaLWyss
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) June 9, 2021
The reemergence of cicadas this summer has been the source of much conversation, including from the cicadas themselves, who are extremely loud.
Known as Brood X, the insects have emerged from underground for the first time in 17 years, fulfilling a truly bizarre life cycle.
Reporters traveling to the United Kingdom for President Biden's first overseas trip were delayed seven hours after their chartered plane was overrun by cicadas.
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 9, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/l6Y6Zk8Ht0
Learn more about Brood X cicadas in this @AP animation. pic.twitter.com/MmlLDayj27
They mostly make a lot of noise, but are also just incredibly large and weird-looking. Since most of us don’t really see these bugs often - they’re underground for so much of our lives - their presence is startling people all over the country.
According to scientists, this particular generation of cicadas should start to die off at the end of June and throughout July.
Their lifeless bodies, at that point, will likely flood the streets and pastures of this nation, so look forward to that.
