The White House has not yet officially given a statement regarding the photograph taken this past week of him standing on a balcony with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. Some have suggested the box the president is opening could be a pack of his always present nicotine gum. If so, why would one have to step outside to chew gum?
CNN even devoted an entire segment to Barack Obama’s quitting smoking, declaring more Americans should follow his example. This despite various reports from D.C. insiders that the president had never actually quit smoking. And his motivation for saying he did had little to do with his health and far more to do with 2008 internal polling that indicated he might lose votes if being honest about his alleged two+plus pack a day habit.