‘For the last time as your president, it’s my honor to wish all of America a very Merry Christmas,’ President Joe Biden wrote on X.
President Joe Biden made his last Christmas and Hanukkah address as president to the American people on Dec. 25.
“For the last time as your president, it’s my honor to wish all of America a very Merry Christmas,” Biden
wrote on X. “My hope for our nation, today and always, is that we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.
“May God bless you all.”
This statement followed a
video tour of the White House shared on Christmas Eve narrated by Biden, in which he urged Americans to set aside “all the noise and everything that divides us,” find a moment for “quiet reflection,” and “live in the light”—treating each other with dignity and respect.
“We’re here on this Earth to care for one another, to love one another,” Biden said in a voiceover.
“Too often, we see each other as enemies, not as neighbors, not as fellow Americans.”
The president and first lady spent Christmas morning calling units from all six branches of the military stationed around the world, thanking the servicemen and women and their families for their service.
According to the White House, the president and first lady called the 401st Army Field Support Brigade stationed in Kuwait, and the I MEF Coordination Element (MCE) 25.2 or the Marine Rotational Force stationed in Darwin, Australia. They also called the crew of the USS Sterett (DDG-104) currently underway, the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Task Group in East Africa, the U.S. Space Force SPACECENT Combat Detachment 3-1 stationed in Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier (WPC 1115), docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The president and first lady shared a picture of them making those calls
on X, stating: “There’s a true selflessness in giving up a seat at your Christmas table to defend your country.”
As the sun set on Dec. 25, the first night of Hanukkah also began, and to commemorate the day, the president shared a picture with First Lady, Jill Biden, around the first-ever White House menorah.
“Two years ago, Jill and I introduced the first-ever White House Menorah made from historic wood sourced from the foundation,” Biden
wrote on X. “As Hanukkah begins, it is displayed to make clear that the history of the Jewish life is woven into the fabric of America. Like this menorah, it’s permanent.”
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump also
shared his own Christmas statements, using the opportunity to reinforce his stances on resecuring the Panama Canal, absorbing Greenland, and making Canada the 51st state.
Reuters contributed to this report.
