First Lady Jill Biden sent her husband, President Joe Biden, off to Israel with a kiss on Tuesday, the Daily Mail reports. 

This took place just before the president left Washington, D.C., for Israel. Biden's trip came amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine war, which broke out after Hamas launched a devastating terror attack against the Israeli people.

The kiss

The kissing incident took place in the East Room of the White House. After saying a few words before his trip, Biden and the First Lady embraced, and this is when the First Lady decided to plant a kiss on Biden.

"I couldn’t let him go without kissing him goodbye," the first lady said, afterward.

It almost appears as if the president was caught off guard by the gesture. From the camera angle, it even appears as though he pulled away a bit. And, so, the first lady only managed to get him on the cheek, even though it seemed clear that she was aiming for more.

The two went their separate ways, in opposite directions, directly after the kiss. The whole episode does look a bit contrived. Why did it have to happen like this, in front of all of the cameras and the crowd?

Biden's trip

The primary purpose of Biden's trip to Israel was to make it clear to the world that the United States stands behind Israel as it continues to defend itself following the Hamas terrorist attack. It is probably fair to say that Biden, during his trip, which lasted about 31 hours, accomplished this.

But, Biden did not stop there. NPR reports that Biden also did some "concrete" things for the Palestinians.

Per the outlet:

These included announcing $100 million in aid to the Palestinians, and convincing Israel to agree to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza and persuading Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi to open up a vital land crossing into southern Gaza.

While Biden has made it clear that he and the U.S. stand behind Israel, Biden has emphasized that Palestinian civilians are not to blame - a position with which Israeli leadership does not completely agree.

In a statement, Biden said:

Civilians are not to blame and should not suffer for Hamas’s horrific terrorism. Civilian lives must be protected and assistance must urgently reach those in need.

Meanwhile . . .

The First Lady has been making several trips of her own, without her husband, around the United States. On Monday, for example, she visited Brevard County.

It appears that the purpose of these trips is to promote the Biden administration, particularly with 2024 in sight. The president, himself, has done virtually no campaigning for his own reelection, which has certainly raised a lot of eyebrows.