Barack and Michelle Obama arrive in NYC ahead of 21st anniversary of 9/11 attacks
>
Former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama were spotted in New York City Friday, as the city prepares to mourn on the 21st anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The pair, who will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next month, were seen together by DailyMail.com cameras leaving the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan Friday afternoon.
The Obamas were joined by longtime advisor and friend Valerie Jarrett as they headed for their secret service detail, which consisted of 7 vehicles that included NYPD assistance.
President Obama was seen in a gray button down shirt, dark blue jacket and sunglasses, while First Lady Michelle wore a white shirt and green pants.
The detail was then seen leaving with their detail and heading straight for the Lincoln Tunnel and out of the city.
It’s unclear if the Obamas, like last year, will be helping with the memorial services to mark 9/11 this year, while speculation has also mounted as to whether they’ll attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
They are the only former first family to have been invited back to visit the late monarch after Obama ended his time in office, and are believed to have been firm favorites of the British ruler.
Former President Barack Obama walking out of the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan on Friday afternoon
Former First Lady Michelle Obama was alongside her husband, as they prepare to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next month
The Obamas were joined by longtime advisor and friend Valerie Jarrett as they checked in before leaving the upscale Manhattan hotel
Michelle Obama is spotted checking in to a New York City hotel on Friday afternoon
It’s unclear if the Obamas, like last year, will be helping with the memorial services to mark 9/11 this year
Speculation has also mounted as to whether Barack and Michelle will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
The 44th president put out a lengthy statement on Thursday celebrating the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II
Michelle and Barack Obama tweeted out the six paragraph statement together from both of their accounts
Obama, seen in a gray button down shirt, dark blue jacket and sunglasses, leaves the Pierre Hotel
Obama’s secret service detail needed several cars, as well as a hand from the New York Police Department
First Lady Michelle wore a white shirt and green pants outside their Manhattan hotel
The Obamas’ secret service detail, which consisted of seven vehicles that included NYPD assistance
The detail was then seen leaving with their detail and heading straight for the Lincoln Tunnel and out of the city
‘Like so many of you, Michelle and I are grateful to have witnessed Her Majesty’s dedicated leadership, and we are awed by her legacy of tireless, dignified public service. Our thoughts are with her family and the people of the United Kingdom at this difficult time,’ Obama said in a statement on Twitter.
The Obamas first met the Queen while in office in April 2009, again in London in May 2011 and once more for the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016. The Obamas have also kept a strong relationship on charity work with Prince Harry.
He acknowledged the Queen just a day after reflecting on his own legacy during his portrait unveiling at the White House.
‘Her Majesty worked with 15 Prime Ministers and countless foreign heads of state,’ said the Obama statement. ‘She listened deeply, thought strategically, and was responsible for considerable diplomatic achievements. And yet, she wore her lofty titles with a light touch—as willing to act in a comic sketch for the London Olympics as she was to record steadying messages for the people of the UK during the COVID-19 lockdowns.’
The Obama statement ran to six paragraphs, and put the Queen’s reign into historical context.
‘During World War II, she became the first-ever female royal to serve on active military duty. And through periods of prosperity and stagnation – from the moon landing, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the dawn of the digital age – she served as a beacon of hope and stability for the people of the United Kingdom and the world,’ the Obamas said.
U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle pose for a photograph with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh in 2009
In 2011, President Barack Obama speaks with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace
The Obamas thanked the Queen for the welcome she gave them in 2009. They attended a state banquet in 2011
They also spoke in personal terms about their 2009 meeting with the Queen during Obama’s first year in office, when then-first lady Michelle Obama broke protocol by putting an arm around the monarch. She later wrote that it came after the two were commiserating over their uncomfortable footwear.
‘Michelle and I were lucky enough to come to know Her Majesty, and she meant a great deal to us. Back when we were just beginning to navigate life as President and First Lady, she welcomed us to the world stage with open arms and extraordinary generosity,’ they said.
‘Time and again, we were struck by her warmth, the way she put people at ease, and how she brought her considerable humor and charm to moments of great pomp and circumstance.’
Obama was most recently in the news for becoming the second American president to win an Emmy Award.
The 44th president won the best narrator Emmy for his work on the Netflix documentary series, ‘Our Great National Parks’. The documentary’s first episode was released on the streaming service on April 13.
The five-part series, which features national parks from around the globe, is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, ‘Higher Ground.’
He was the biggest name in a category full of famous nominees for the award handed out at Saturday night’s Creative Arts Emmys, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Attenborough and Lupita Nyong’o.
Barack Obama is the second president to have an Emmy. Dwight D. Eisenhower was given a special Emmy Award in 1956 for his ‘appreciation of television,’ just a year after he hosted the first broadcasted press conference.
Former President Barack Obama, 61, has won an Emmy Award for his work on the Netflix documentary series, ‘Our Great National Parks,’ on Saturday. No. 44 could become the 18th person ever to win an EGOT – an individual who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – following in the footpaths of Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg and Helen Hayes
US President Barack Obama speaks while celebrating the 100th anniversary of the US National Parks system at Yosemite National Park, California, on June 18, 2016. At the time, he launched the ‘Every Kid in a Park’ initiative, which allows free entry for fourth grade students and their families in all 63 national parks for a year
Obama’s Vice President and now President Joe Biden told DailyMail.com Thursday that ‘yes, probably,’ he’d attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral as he departed a Democratic National Committee event Thursday night.
Biden twice paid homage to the Queen Thursday evening, first stopping at the British embassy in Washington to sign a book of condolence, hours after Buckingham Palace announced the death of the long-serving British monarch.
‘We mourn for all of you,’ said Biden after the signing, with first lady Jill at his side.
‘She was a great lady. We’re so delighted to get to meet her.’
Later, he opened up his remarks at the DNC summer meeting by speaking about the Queen.
‘I had the opportunity to meet her before she passed and she was an incredibly decent and gracious woman,’ Biden said. ‘And the thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in their grief.’
He spoke to DailyMail.com after nearly an hour of chatting with DNC members and taking selfies.
President Joe Biden told DailyMail.com that ‘yes, probably,’ he’d attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral as he departed a Democratic National Committee event Thursday night
President Joe Biden and the first lady made an unannounced visit to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening, hours after the Queen’s death was announced
Biden signed the book of condolence, flanked by Dame Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the U.S., and the first lady. ‘We’re so delighted to get to meet her,’ he said afterwards
The Bidens put their name to a message praising the way Elizabeth ‘led with enduring strength and dignity,’ before heading on to a political event
The White House said President Joe Biden had met the Queen three times, most recently for tea with first lady Jilly Biden at Windsor Castle in 2021, where they inspected a guard of honor
Biden paid tribute to the Queen after her death was announced on Thursday, saying: ‘In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons including many who have never known their country without her’
The president issued a proclamation on Thursday afternoon, paying tribute to the Queen and ordering the US flag to be flown at half staff at the White House and other public buildings
At the embassy, Dr. Biden wore black and carried a bouquet of flowers as they arrived to be greeted by Dame Karen Pierce, the British ambassador.
The condolence book was sat between a photo of the Queen and a vase of flowers. Biden took out some notes as he sat down to write his entry.
‘The American people mourn today with people in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth,’ wrote Biden.
‘She led with enduring strength and dignity.’
After signing the book, the Bidens spoke briefly to British diplomatic staff.
‘Our hearts are with you,’ said the first lady.
And the president could be heard to say: ‘As my mother would say, God love you.’
It came amid a welter of tributes to Britain’s longest reigning monarch.
Earlier Biden paid tribute the stability and constancy she brought to Britain and to an uncertain world.
And he said was ready to build on his relationship with King Charles, who will now take up the British throne.
‘In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her,’ said Biden.
‘An enduring admiration for Queen Elizabeth II united people across the Commonwealth.
Biden, who met the Queen for the first time as a senator in 1982 and for the final time last year, was told of her death during a meeting in the Oval Office.