U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are pictured walking to the White House upon arrival on the South Lawn in Washington, DC, August 26, 2023.Photo:SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Bidenand First LadyDr. Jill Bidenshared a powerful message thisThanksgiving Day.
The pair called into theTodayshow during its coverage of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to speak withAl Rokeramid hisreturn to the Thanksgiving morning broadcast. Roker, 69, missed last year’s parade while he recovered fromblood clots in his leg and lungs.
“Happy Thanksgiving, Al. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without you,” Joe, 81, said as he and Jill, 72, called into the broadcast.
When Roker asked the president about his message forToday’s viewers on Thursday, he said he would like Americans “to remind ourselves how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth.”
“I think it’s important that we all commit to an act of kindness today, so call someone and wish them a happy Thanksgiving or do something kind,” Jill added during the phone call.
President Biden also shared his belief with Roker that “we have to come together” this Thanksgiving.
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(L-R) Joe Biden, Jill Biden and Al Roker.Drew Angerer/Getty; Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal; Theo Wargo/Getty
Drew Angerer/Getty; Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal; Theo Wargo/Getty
“We can have different political views, but we have one view: the one view is we’re the greatest nation in the world. We should focus on that, and we should focus on dealing with our problems and being together, and stop the rancor,” he said. “We have to bring the nation together and we have to [create] a little bit of decency, and I think that’s where the vast majority of the American people are.”
The Bidens havecalled into NBC’s broadcast of the annual Thanksgiving day paradeeach year since President Biden took office in 2021. During Roker’s absence last year, the couple also promised to call Roker and check in on him while hemissed the parade for the first time in 27 years.
Joe Biden and Jill Biden on Sept. 18, 2022.JOE GIDDENS/POOL/AFP via Getty
The Bidens traditionally spend Thanksgiving in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They arrived on the island on Tuesday evening, perFactba.se, which tracks the president’s public schedule.
On Monday, President Biden participated in the annual White House turkey pardon, in which hepardoned two turkeys named Liberty and Bell, who were raised in Willmar, Minnesota. The presidentalso turned 81 years old on Monday— and he even joked about his age during the event.
“This is the 76th anniversary of this event,” he said of the pardoning ceremony. “I want you to know I wasn’t there at the first one. I was too young to make it up.”
source: people.com
