Biden and the first lady bring holiday cheer to patients and families at a children’s hospital

President Joe Biden and his wife Jill brought some holiday cheer to patients and families at a children’s hospital in Washington

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his wife, Jillwhat to bring Christmas party for patients and their families at a children’s hospital on Friday, but a toddler in a light blue sweater also enjoyed himself.

The president and first lady visited patients and their families privately for photos at Children’s National Hospital before Jill Biden read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to a group of patients in the atrium. As she read, the president, seated next to her in a matching red chair, played catch with the toddler. Biden made faces at the child and at one point briefly made him sit up in his seat.

“Reading and entertainment,” Jill Biden said after she finished reading. The audience laughed.

The president then asked permission to make a short statement and tried to cheer up the children, saying he knows it is a “difficult time” for them to be in the hospital.

“Keep the hope,” he said. “You are in our prayers, you are in our thoughts, and thank you for allowing us to join you.”

The visit continued a tradition dating back to first lady Bess Truman, in which presidents’ wives brought holiday cheer to children too sick to be home for Christmas.

President Biden has accompanied his wife on all four of her annual visits. It has not gone unnoticed.

“We’ve never had a president four years in a row, so you’ve set the bar high,” Michelle Riley-Brown, the hospital’s president and CEO, told him.