The White House has announced that President and First Lady Biden will be hosting Barack and Michelle Obama for their White House portrait unveiling.
The White House announced in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “On Wednesday, September 7, at 1:30 PM ET, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama for the unveiling of their official White House portraits.”
Normally, the White House portrait unveiling for the previous president would have taken place a year or two after the previous president left office.
For example, here is George W. Bush’s unveiling ceremony that took place in 2012:
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Trump was the reason why Obama’s portrait was not unveiled when it should have been. Trump never scheduled the ceremony, and for his part, Barack Obama had no interest in participating in the ceremony with Trump.
Trump is still accusing Obama of crimes, so there is no doubt that if Trump would have won a second term, Obama would be waiting for him to leave office before unveiling his White House portrait.
Portrait unveilings at the White House are historic, as there are only five living ex-presidents, so anytime one makes a public appearance with the current president, it represents one-sixth of the living individuals who have been/are president.
It will be a special day in the White House, and one that is long overdue as Obama and Biden will be reunited at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association