After bringing President Biden onto the stage during Thursday night’s Lunar New Year event at the White House, First Lady Jill Biden put a stringent “no dancing” rule on him.
The first pair had just finished watching a traditional Chinese lion dance from the front row of the East Room when Jill assumed the position of master of ceremonies and brought her husband onstage by the hand.
“Are we planning on dancing?” The 80-year-old chief executive laughed as he up a small flight of stairs.
Jill responded with amusement, “No, you are not going to dance, believe me.” We do not wish to spoil the evening.
Dr. Biden, dressed in a festive bright red outfit for the occasion, joked with the audience about almost grabbing a tangerine used as a prop during the dance performance, eliciting amusement from the audience.
President Biden joked that he wanted to dance at the White House Lunar New Year event, but first wife Jill Biden told him that he would ruin the festivities.
She then praised the “amazing” performance of the Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe.
The first lady welcomed visitors to a reception and deftly interceded on her husband’s behalf when he was bombarded with inquiries from media about the confidential materials seized in his residence.
Later, the president honored the 11 victims of a horrific shooting in Monterey Park, California, less than a week ago, and the seven victims of a murder on Monday in Half Moon Bay, California.
No fireworks tonight! Biden stated in what appeared to be an unplanned moment.
“Fire — no, I’m serious. I was considering that, you know. If the past few years had not been like they have been, we’d be having fireworks outside,” he continued.
Biden’s audience, which consisted primarily of Asian Americans, greeted his remarks with laughter and did not appear offended, despite the fact that many social media critics criticized the timing of the firecrackers joke as inappropriate.
During the ceremony, Biden also referred to himself as a “very temporary” White House tenant and mentioned his beloved cat, Willow, after observing that it was the Year of the Cat in Vietnamese culture.
“Willow may enter the room at any moment. “She has no boundaries,” he stated. You believe I am joking, but I am not. Especially when she crawls on top of my head in the middle of the night.”
Turning to the horrific events of the past week, Biden revealed that he asked California Democrat Rep. Judy Chu, whose district contains Monterey Park, if he should visit the dance hall where Saturday’s shooting occurred and cancel the White House celebrations.
“I chatted with Judy about a week ago. I questioned Judy, “What should I do?” Should I continue, should I be in California, or should we still celebrate?’” the president asked. “And she felt intensely. She stated that we must proceed. Her message was to not succumb to fear and sadness. Avoid doing that. Maintain an attitude of solidarity and resoluteness. This is the essence of the holiday.
Biden also boasted that the White House hosted the “first Lunar New Year reception of this magnitude” this year.
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