Biden’s White House hosts DC official who praised antisemite despite invite ban rumors
The White House invited a Washington, D.C., official for multiple visits despite controversy over her praise of antisemite Louis Farrakhan. Cora Masters Barry, serving under Mayor Muriel Bowser, faced backlash for her remarks. Despite a reported ban, she visited the White House in June and December 2023. The situation drew attention and calls for clarification from various parties. The White House extended invitations to a Washington, D.C., official despite backlash for praising Louis Farrakhan. Cora Masters Barry, under Mayor Muriel Bowser, visited the White House twice in 2023, defying a reported ban. This sparked scrutiny and demands for explanations from different groups.
A Washington, D.C., official scored two more visits to the White House after a spokesman for President Joe Biden reportedly asserted that she would not be allowed to return following her praise of antisemite Louis Farrakhan.
Cora Masters Barry, an official serving under Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, said at a mid-2022 event that Farrakhan was a “friend” and “member of the family,” prompting spokesman Andrew Bates for the White House, which Masters Barry had visited repeatedly since July 2021, to say Biden “denounces any praise of Louis Farrakhan or his repugnant, antisemitic values, including in this case.” Bates had told Fox News that the White House would ban Masters Barry from future visits, though government visitor logs show she returned to the White House twice — in June 2023 and December 2023.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House and Masters Barry for comment. The Republican Jewish Coalition said the White House needs to own up to why it would invite Masters Barry back, including after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel.
“The priorities of this White House are all backwards,” RJC spokesman Sam Markstein told the Washington Examiner. “Why is someone like this being given access to the White House in the immediate aftermath of the worst terrorist attack and slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust?”
Masters Barry’s June 13, 2023, visit was likely for a White House-hosted concert for the Juneteenth holiday — an event in which Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made remarks.
Masters Barry, a commissioner in Washington, also visited the White House on Dec. 14, 2023, visitor logs show. It appears to have been for an evening reception that 739 people in total attended.
The commissioner’s prior praise for Farrakhan, who leads the Nation of Islam, was at an October 2022 private event honoring former Washington Mayor Marion Barry, her late husband. Farrakhan’s antisemitic remarks over the years have included accusing Jews of having “infected the whole world with poison and deceit” and likening Jews to termites.
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“I love you more than words will ever say,” Masters Barry said at the 2022 event of Farrakhan that drew scrutiny from the White House.
In 2021, Bowser said she was “grateful for women” such as Masters Barry in appointing the official to her post. Masters Barry gave $500 to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, following a $1,000 check she cut to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign in 2016, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
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