President Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving festivities started on Sunday as he and first lady Jill Biden celebrated an early holiday meal with servicemen and servicewomen.
The president visited USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS Gerald R. Ford at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, where he served Thanksgiving dinner. Biden was in charge of serving mashed potatoes, while the first lady served sweet potato casserole, according to the Associated Press.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden serve food at a Friendsgiving dinner with service members and military families at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia. pic.twitter.com/DvdFbofjaY
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 19, 2023
“Today, Jill and I are headed to Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads to join service members and their families for a Friendsgiving meal,” read a statement posted to Biden’s social media.
Today, Jill and I are headed to Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads to join service members and their families for a Friendsgiving meal.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 19, 2023
Families of the servicemen and servicewomen were also present for the dinner, during which Biden took a moment to thank them. The president described the military as the “1%” that protects the “99% of us.”
“I mean from the bottom of my heart,” the president said, “family members, you are the heart of this operation.”
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Prior to the dinner, the Bidens visited Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, where the president introduced a screening of the new film Wonka, which details the origin of the fictional candy maker Willy Wonka. The Bidens did not stick around to attend the screening, however.
Later this week, the president and his wife will spend Thanksgiving on Nantucket, an island in Massachusetts.
