The White House defended President Joe Biden’s plan to spend Easter with family members while he is urging people to avoid such gatherings until the Fourth of July, saying his weekend will not include a “big Irish Biden clan.”
Biden departed the executive mansion on Marine One along with first lady Jill Biden, who was toting a bouquet of spring flowers, en route to Camp David. He said a day earlier that he intends to spend the Christian holiday weekend with some family members at the presidential retreat in Maryland.
“This season marks [a] remarkable confluence of holy days across a number of traditions,” Biden told religious leaders on a conference call on Thursday. “Jill and I, we’re looking forward to our Easter celebration, where we get to, get to get together with our family. And because we’ve had the great honor of being vaccinated, we may be able to get together with some of them this Easter.”
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The president and his wife received their COVID-19 vaccine shots before Inauguration Day. But the White House has not said how many, nor which, of his immediate and extended family members have also gotten their full slate of jabs.
Some conservative media personalities and right-leaning social media users criticized the president, saying he would be a hypocrite if he was surrounded by even a small number of family members after repeatedly telling people that if they get their vaccinations and also keep doing things such as wearing masks and social distancing, most can have more normal Independence Day festivities than last year.
Biden’s top spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, was asked about the seeming contradiction on Friday.
“It’s a limited group and certainly not the big Irish Biden clan that many of you have seen during throughout the course of time in public office,” Psaki told reporters.
She said on Thursday that the president had been tested for COVID-19 this week, with the result being negative, as part of a regular screening regime.
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Any vaccinated family members would need to be two weeks clear of their second poke. Psaki noted during a Thursday briefing that the public should wait that long before congregating with other inoculated people to give the vaccine ample time to take inside their systems.
