Jill Biden Honors Japanese Culture in Poetry Event
Jill Biden Honors Japanese Culture in Poetry Event
Plus, the White House hosts Japan in state dinner and Wellesley College launches the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center.
Weekly Wrap is a collection of headlines from the past week. Some publications have paywalls.
Before President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida at a state dinner, the first lady paid tribute to the two countries in an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building that spotlighted poetry and Japanese culture.
“The ties that bind our nations are not just forged by heads of state. They’re created people to people, heart to heart, as we share ideas and pieces of our culture that make our souls sing,” Biden said in her welcoming remarks.
The gathering included a group of high school students that the first lady said “are bringing our countries closer.” The students invited are studying, hosting Japanese students and traveling to Japan through cultural exchange programs.
A featured speaker was Japanese American poet, Professor Kimiko Hahn, who had earlier that morning led a poetry workshop at the White House with the students focusing on an ancient form of Japanese poetry.
“With every line of poetry, you enter into a conversation with the world—helping us reach toward each other, so we can understand one another and imagine our bright tomorrows together,” Biden said.
Hahn recited a few of her poetry works followed by students who recited their poems in English and Japanese.
Town & Country
What Guests Wore to the Japan State Dinner at the White House
April 11, 2024 — The Bidens were joined by more than 200 guests, including politicians, relatives, and members of the Biden administration, along with business leaders like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook, and notable Japanese-Americans, such as figure skating siblings Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani. The guests dined on a menu inspired by American and Japanese cuisine, and singer-songwriter Paul Simon performed. Read more
Yahoo
Hillary Clinton Wears Kimono-like Caftan for Japanese State Dinner at the White House
April 11, 2024 — Hillary Clinton was among a string of famous guests who attended the White House state dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko Kishida on Wednesday. The former U.S. Secretary of State was joined by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. For the event, Hillary fashioned a flowing purple and pink caftan. Read more
The New York Times
At the Japan State Dinner, Jill Biden Makes an Entrance
April 10, 2024 — There were cherry blossoms. There were silk and glass butterflies. There were toasts. There was an entree inspired by a California roll and a performance by Paul Simon. But before that, there was the photo op, and the fashion.
On Wednesday evening, as the Bidens hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and his wife, Yuko Kishida, at the fifth state dinner of the Biden administration, Dr. Jill Biden, wearing an evening dress from Oscar de la Renta, stood with her husband to greet their guests of honor at the North Portico. Read more
East Wing Magazine
Betty Ford To Be Honored in National First Ladies Conference
April 10, 2024 — Forty years ago this month, a curious crowd converged at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the first-ever national conference on American first ladies. The two-day conference, Modern First Ladies: Private Lives and Public Duties, chaired by former First Lady Betty Ford and joined by another former first lady—Rosalynn Carter—was designed to “open new doors to understanding the role of first lady, and all its advantages and disadvantages,” Ford said at the time.
Decades later, the spirit of that historic event is having a resurgence of sorts with the announcement on Monday by the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE), of its first national conference “First Lady Betty Ford: 50th Anniversary Celebration,” honoring Ford’s anniversary of becoming first lady in 1974. Read more
News Nation
Melania Trump Was Not a Typical First Lady: Author
April 10, 2024 — Kate Bennett, author of “Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography,” talks about the former first lady and her choice to dodge the spotlight. View here
C-SPAN
President Biden Welcomes Japanese Prime Minister to White House
April 9, 2024 — President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife to the White House. Mr. Kishida was the fifth state guest of the president, who previously hosted leaders of India, Australia, South Korea, and France. View here
C-SPAN
Preview of State Dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Kishida
April 9, 2024 — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and White House staffers previewed the state dinner to be held in honor of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. They explained the thought that went into the décor and meals, including the symbolic motif of cherry blossoms, which were a gift from Japan to the U.S. as a sign of friendship in 1912 and bloom every spring in Washington, D.C. View here
KMOV St. Louis
First Lady Visits St. Louis in Campaign Stop
April 9, 2024 — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden comes to St. Louis, Missouri, for a fundraiser. View here
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
First Lady Jill Biden Headlines Ladue Fundraiser
April 9, 2024 — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden headlined a reelection fundraiser here Monday, urging a roomful of supporters to do what they can to keep her husband in the White House and former President Donald Trump out of it. Read more
The Mercury News
Melania Trump Skipped Award From 'Father' of Family Separation Policy
April 8, 2024 — On Friday, the day before Melania Trump became the subject of viral images, looking stunned, annoyed or grim during a rare campaign appearance with her husband, she raised eyebrows by skipping another event with the former president, at which she was honored with a “Child Advocacy Award.”
It’s not known why Melania Trump didn’t show up at Friday’s event to receive the award, and it was somewhat surprising, considering that it took place at the Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, her own home. Melania also had tried to make child advocacy a cornerstone of her Be Best initiative while serving as first lady. Read more
ABC News
Trump's Palm Beach fundraiser, joined by Melania Trump, rakes in $50 million, organizers say
April 8, 2024 — For the second time this election cycle, former First Lady Melania Trump was publicly seen joining former president Donald Trump for a political event after she was last seen with her husband publicly at a polling location in Palm Beach on Florida's primary election day. Read more
The New York Times
Hillary Clinton Returns to Wellesley, but the Homecoming Is More Complicated
April 6, 2024 — Hillary Clinton returned on Saturday to her alma mater, Wellesley College, to celebrate the opening of a new research and study center that bears her name, more than half a century after she graduated and set off on the path that would make her its most famous alumna.
She was met, as ever, by Wellesley faculty, students and alumnae who see her as a rock star, a kind of campus demi-deity who forever elevated the status of this small liberal arts college west of Boston.
But as Mrs. Clinton moderated a panel on “democracy at a crossroads” at the new center’s inaugural summit, a group of student protesters outside chanted and raised signs objecting to her presence, an angry display of the more critical way many in the latest generation of Wellesley women view her legacy. Read more