Christian Smith
- Ginger Spice met the president in the Rose Garden before leaving for Wisconsin
- Mark Hamill helped celebrate ‘May Fourth’ with reporters
- Kim Kardashian spent time with Vice President Harris last month
Photo taken by Kellie Meyer
WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — The White House always attracts a variety of celebrities, some because they are seeking support for their favorite cause and others who simply want to meet the president of the United States.
In recent weeks, however, the variation has been even greater.
On Wednesday, former Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell, known by the nickname “Ginger Spice,” was in the White House Rose Garden when President Joe Biden boarded Marine One en route to Racine, Wisconsin. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who is a friend of Halliwell, brought her as a guest for a visit to the White House.
Last Friday, a celebrity from a different dimension descended on the White House: Luke Skywalker. Actor Mark Hamill met the president and even made a brief appearance at the start of the daily White House press conference with Karine Jean-Pierre.
“I just met the president. He gave me these aviator glasses,” Hamill told reporters. He then turned serious: “I was honored to be invited to the White House to meet the president – the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime.”
Hamill ended his brief comments with a joke: “You know, I called him ‘Mr. President.’ He said, ‘You can call me ‘Joe.’ And I said, ‘Can I call him ‘Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi’?’ He liked that.
Biden and Hamill also joined forces to Record a videoreleased on May 4, “Star Wars Day,” when fans like to say, “May the Fourth be with you.”
Hollywood stars can often cause a lot of commotion and excitement among White House staff and the press when they stop by.
Actor Ralph Fiennes created controversy when he also visited Biden last week. The White House said Biden accompanied Fiennes — known for many roles, including playing Voldemort in the “Harry Potter” films — to the Rose Garden before taking off in Marine One.
As the president was showing him around, the Secret Service did not allow people to move around the White House grounds, preventing the press from covering Biden’s departure.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the recent string of celebrity visitors.
Kim Kardashian, one of the most famous faces in the world, has taken her advocacy for criminal justice reform to both Republican and Democratic administrations. Late last month, she participated in a roundtable with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the issue and recent pardons granted by Biden.
“I’m so honored to be here to continue this fight, to learn more every day, every visit, every administration,” Kardashian said. “I’m just here to help spread the word.”
During the Trump administration, Kardashian spoke at a 2019 event to advocate for the commutation of a woman named Alice Marie Johnson, who served a 21-year sentence for a non-violent drug offense. Trump commuted his sentence that year.
Harris also met with cast members from “A Different World” at the White House in April to discuss historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and student loan debt.
“The vice president, who was born in California, is accustomed to bringing disparate people together, leveraging these partnerships to have meaningful engagement and bring attention to critical issues of our time,” a White House official told NewsNation. “She is leveraging different platforms to reach different audiences and spread the message.”
