President Joe Biden on Thursday met with Coast Guard service members in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and also held a virtual call with U.S. service members from the six branches of the military, as part of his activities on Thanksgiving.
The president and first lady Jill Biden wished Americans a happy Thanksgiving prior to their trip to the island of Nantucket for the holiday.
“As we give thanks for what we have, we also keep in our hearts those who have been lost and those who have lost so much,” the president said in a videotaped greeting with the first lady by his side.
In Nantucket, at the Coast Guard Station Brant Point, the Bidens addressed service members from the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force.
“I’m not joking when I say I’m thankful for these guys, thankful to them, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” Biden said when asked what he was grateful for.
The Bidens also briefly called in to NBC’s live TV coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The 2021 parade in Manhattan had about 8,000 participants.
The couple’s family this year joined them in celebrating Thanksgiving, flying to the island with him late Tuesday on Air Force One—son Hunter and his wife, Melissa, and their toddler son Beau; daughter Ashley; and grandchildren Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, and young Hunte, as well as Naomi’s fiance, Peter Neal.