Obama chewed gum while entering a formal dinner with Xi Jinping. Despite critics, Obama keeps chewing gum in China

He’s getting chewed out by critics, but President Barack Obama is still smacking gum during his visit to China.

Pool reports and footage of Obama’s trip have shown the president chewing gum — possibly Nicorette, which Obama is known to use — entering a dinner for the summit, which has ignited a backlash from the Chinese press which said it was disrespectful.


The latest gum-spotting came when Obama entered a Wednesday meeting with Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People’s Congress — China’s legislative body, according to the pool report.

Some Chinese bloggers also took issue with the president’s habit.

“We made this meeting so luxurious, with singing and dancing, but see Obama, stepping out of his car chewing gum like an idler,” wrote Yin Hong, a professor of journalism at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, according to USA Today.

“This is in the American manner and humor, but in traditional Chinese culture, it is immature and not serious behavior!” wrote another blogger, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Back home, some were willing to cut the president some slack.

“I know if I were in his shoes, I know my mother would be on the horn right now giving me a workout, telling me that I looked gauche if I were chewing gum like that,” radio host Michael Smerconish said Tuesday on “CNN Tonight.” “I don’t think it’s a big deal. Frankly, I would rather he tossed it out before he walked into that public setting.”

It isn’t the first time Obama has been slammed for chewing gum at formal events. Earlier in June, the president could be seen chewing gum at a D-Day remembrance ceremony and at his own Inauguration in 2013, he chewed away.

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