United States: Joe Biden marries his granddaughter at the White House, and behind closed doors

Europe 1 with AFP 9:26 p.m., November 19, 2022

US President Joe Biden is organizing the wedding of his granddaughter Naomi at the White House on Saturday, an unprecedented event from which the press is however kept away.

Naomi Biden, 28, a lawyer, married late morning Peter Neal, 25, a law graduate, in the gardens of the famous building adorned with garlands of white flowers, and in front of a few rows of guests, according to the pictures taken, remotely, by an AFP photographer.

Weddings that are not so unusual

It's not entirely unusual for the grand colonnaded building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington to host a nuptials.

The White House Historical Association counted that eighteen marriages had already been celebrated there, after for example that of Richard Nixon's daughter in 1971, and that of Barack Obama's official photographer, Pete Souza, in 2013.

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The White House, according to the same source, has also hosted receptions for weddings celebrated elsewhere on four occasions - for example that of George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna, in 2008. But this is the first time that a president marries his granddaughter there.

The services of Joe Biden, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday, were sparing with details on the wedding, described as a private event and closed to the press, which is debating.

Lunch and gala evening

"The press has covered weddings performed at the White House because this place belongs to the American people and because the president's participation is an event of national importance", criticized on Twitter Kelly O'Donnell, journalist of the chain NBC. and future president of the White House Correspondents' Association.

The

, however, revealed some details: after the exchange of vows, a lunch and then a gala evening are planned around the new spouses, who according to the daily currently reside at the White House.

The bride, eldest daughter of Hunter Biden, the youngest son of the Democratic president, announced her engagement last September on her Instagram account, which alternates vacation snapshots, family photos of the Biden clan, and social snapshots.

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The President of the United States is very close to his grandchildren, who call him "Pop" and are often seen by his side, including at official events.

Naomi takes her name from the first daughter of Joe Biden, who died when she was still a baby in an accident which also claimed the life, in 1972, of the first wife of the American president.

The press attributes her great importance in the private circle of the American president, and indicates that she pushed her grandfather to run for president in 2020.