Bidens mark Christmas with holiday calls to service members
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With Commander, President Joe Biden, and US First Lady Jill Biden, they speak with military personnel to express gratitude and to wish them Merry Christmas. This was done from the South Court Auditorium at the White House, Washington, DC, December 25, 2021.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The President Joe Biden celebrated his first Christmas as a president by calling military personnel stationed all over the globe to offer them holiday wishes and thanks for their sacrifices for our nation.
His wife Jill and Commander, their puppy, joined him on Saturday to speak via video to military personnel stationed at bases around Quatar and Bahrain.
“As commander in chief of your unit, I want to thank you for all that you have done,” he said to his troops. “We are thankful for your courage and your sacrifices. Not only have we been touched by your sacrifices but also those of your loved ones.”
Biden addressed them from a White House studio, and stressed that the nation must care for its soldiers and their families.
Jill Biden expressed sympathy for families that have to spend holidays far from their loved ones. Jill also noted that Beau Biden was a major in Delaware Army National Guard and had experienced similar difficulties.
Joe Biden (U.S. Vice President) talks to his son, U.S. Army Corpt. Beau Biden (L), at Camp Victory, July 4, 2009 in Baghdad. Bidden is making his first trip to Iraq as Vice President, just days after the U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq’s major cities.
Khalid Mohammed | Getty Images
Bidens planned to spend Christmas in relative quiet at the White House, with loved ones.
The coronavirus pandemic is escalating again, driven by the infectious omicron variant.
The Bidens made a Christmas statement and praised America’s “enormous character, courage, resilience, and determination” in dealing with the pandemic. They also offered prayers for the country to find light in this dark season.
The Bidens released a statement saying that “During this Season of Joy, we are inspired and motivated by the many Americans who are an inspiration and transcend distance time and space and even the constraints associated with a pandemic.”
The call to the soldiers was the second Christmas tradition that the two of them participated in after they had spent Christmas Eve cheering on Washington.
The president and Jill visited Children’s National Hospital Friday morning to extend holiday greetings to the young patients. Jill and the president shared photos of their puppy, while Jill read to children.
They stopped later at the Jill Biden-themed Christmas Tree in Dupont Circle. In homage to his wife’s teaching career, the president placed the 2021 White House Christmas ornament among branches decorated with photographs of his face, apples, and small chalkboards.
Both spoke with children and their parents to discuss Christmas wish lists.
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