Barack Obama has said that he quit smoking. Still, a report in The Hill on Tuesday said that “Piano Man” singer Billy Joel said Obama offered him a cigarette at the White House last year. But someone close to Obama told Business Insider that the story couldn’t be true.
“This makes no sense. The President has been faithful to his word regarding his promise to stop smoking, “said the source.
A person told The Hill that they saw Joel on November 19 at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. Joel went to Washington, D.C., to get an award. Joel also stopped by the office of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) while he was there.
The Hill says that while Joel was at the hotel, Boehner, a smoker, offered him a cigarette. Joel also said that Obama tried to smoke with him at one point.
“President Obama did the same thing when I was at the White House not long ago. He said, “I’m going to smoke outside on the North Portico. Want to come with me?'” Joel was said to have said.
The Hill said that Joel hadn’t smoked in a long time but that he “ultimately couldn’t say no to a cigarette from the president.” After getting the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2013, Joel went to the White House.