‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill drops by White House for a visit with ‘Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi’

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill stopped by the White House on Friday to visit President Joe Biden and walked away with a pair of the president’s aviator sunglasses and a greater respect for the office.

“I love the merchandise,” he said, taking off the glasses during a quick appearance at the daily White House news conference after his visit with Biden. Hamill, 72, famous for his role as Luke Skywalker, joked with reporters that he would agree to ask a few questions — as long as they weren’t about “Star Wars.”

“I was honored when I was asked to come to the White House to meet the president,” he said. He’s been to the White House before, during the Carter and Obama administrations, but he had never visited the Oval Office, and that was a big deal, he said. Biden showed off photos and other Oval Office items, Hamill said.

Hamill said Biden told him to call him “Joe,” and Hamill made an alternative suggestion: “Can I call you Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi?”

“He liked that,” said Hamill, who also voiced the Joker in “Batman: The Animated Series.”

Both Hamill and the White House were vague about his reason for the visit. But Hamill, a Democrat and Biden supporter with a huge social media following, has been posting about the president’s reelection campaign this week.

“May the First not quench your thirst for Biden’s re-election!” he wrote on May 1.

On Friday, he posted: “May the third be absurd that the man who tried to steal a fair election is allowed to run again,” a reference to Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

May 4 is unofficially “Star Wars” Day, in part because of the famous Jedi phrase “May the force be with you.” The pun is: ‘May the fourth be with you.’

Hamill also lent his voice to “Air Alert” – a downloadable app linked to the Ukrainian air defense system. His voice urges people to take cover as Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine.