Vice President Joe Biden might be getting hungry right about now. On an Election Day pit stop, the vice president came to Penn for a bite to eat, but was sidetracked by a large crowd of students bearing iPhones.
Stepping out of a car on Spruce Street outside Irvine Auditorium at about 12:30 p.m., Biden didn't make it far. He stood in Perelman Quadrangle until around 1:15 p.m., taking photos and talking with students who had flooded the area.
Biden told the crowd that this was not a part of the plan — he had come to campus to grab lunch with his granddaughter, he said. Press had been notified shortly before his appearance and positioned to be ready for the original plan, which was abandoned as he entered the swarm of students. The appearance had not publicized prior to Tuesday.
One student told Biden she wanted to let her mom talk to him. He told her she could stand to the side until she got her mom on the phone to talk.
Before leaving, Biden said he would be on campus again later this month or next for an "It's On Us" event, which is a White House campaign to end campus sexual assault.
Enterprise Editor Jessica McDowell contributed reporting.
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