Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit the White House for a public event next week, but the plans are now in flux due to first lady Jill Biden testing positive for Covid, according to two people familiar with the planning.
Clinton is scheduled to appear on Tuesday with the first lady at a ceremony honoring winners of a prestigious international arts award, the sources said. But, they said, since Jill Biden tested positive for Covid earlier this week, the joint appearance of the current and former first ladies may not happen.
On Wednesday, the first lady’s office said Jill Biden continues to have mild symptoms.
If Tuesday’s ceremony takes place, it would be the first time Clinton has appeared at a public event at the Biden White House.
During President Joe Biden’s first year in office, Clinton met privately the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to one person familiar with the meeting. The source didn’t know if Clinton also met in person with the president during that visit, though the two have spoken on the phone, according to a person familiar with the matter. Clinton was also among the dignitaries who attended a dinner with the Bidens honoring former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Former President Bill Clinton had lunch with Biden at the White House last year.
President Biden is scheduled to be traveling overseas until late Monday night. It’s unclear if he would have any time with Clinton if she is at the White House for the arts event.
The event is to honor recipients of Japan’s Praemium Imperiale, an award sometimes referred to as the “Nobel Prize of the Arts.” The organization announced that Clinton would take part in an event on Tuesday announcing the entity that will be awarded its young artists grant.
“The Grant for Young Artists will be also announced at the press conference in Washington DC, presided over by International Advisor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and followed by the presentation of the grant,” the organization’s website says.
Former President Bill Clinton hosted an event for Praemium Imperiale recipients while he was in office, thanking the winners in each of the five categories — painting, sculpture, architecture, music and film — “for stirring our imaginations and our souls.”
“The world is better for their efforts,” Clinton said at the 1994 East Room ceremony.
An appearance by Hillary Clinton at the White House next week would come amid a report detailing tensions between the former secretary of state and the Biden administration over the president’s decision to withdrawal all U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021.
Clinton said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last year when asked about the impact of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal on President Biden’s standing with voters: “I don’t think it helped.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
