Up next
Trade Deficit Shrank in July
Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will return to the White House on Wednesday for the unveiling of their official portraits, with President Joe Biden hosting his former boss alongside first lady Jill Biden to revive the bipartisan tradition.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will also be in attendance.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president is “looking forward” to welcoming the Obamas back to the White House.
“Over the course of their eight years together in office, a close partnership between the two men grew through the highs and lows of the job and life,” Jean-Pierre said during a news briefing Tuesday. “President Biden and Dr. Biden are honored to have former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama back to the White House for the unveiling of their portraits, which will hang on the walls of the White House forever as reminders of the power of hope and change.”
The ceremony will be Michelle Obama’s first visit to the White House since her husband’s presidency ended in January 2017. The event will be the second visit to the White House for Obama since leaving office, following his visit in April commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.
The decadeslong traditional East Room ceremony, when the sitting president and the first lady host their immediate predecessors, was shunned by then-President Donald Trump during his term amid the strained relationship between him and Obama.
The event, which is typically held indoors, was further delayed after Biden entered office last year due to the Covid pandemic.
Regardless of party affiliation, sitting presidents typically host their immediate predecessors for the unveiling of their official portraits — which then-President Bill Clinton did for George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush did for Clinton, and Obama did for the younger Bush.
During Trump’s time in office, there was no official explanation for his lack of such a ceremony for Obama.
Asked during the briefing Tuesday whether Biden would hold the same ceremony for Trump should a portrait of him be done, Jean-Pierre deferred questions to the White House Historical Association.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
