{"id":2376665,"date":"2024-12-05T12:28:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-and-harris-reunite-for-christmas-amid-backlash-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-05T12:28:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:28:55","slug":"biden-and-harris-reunite-for-christmas-amid-backlash-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-and-harris-reunite-for-christmas-amid-backlash-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden and Harris reunite for Christmas amid backlash &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-and-harris-reunite-for-christmas-amid-backlash-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2376665&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Joe Biden and\u200d Vice President Kamala\u200b Harris are set to host their final\u200d National Christmas\u2064 Tree Lighting \u2062event at the White\u200b House, marking a notable tradition as they prepare to leave office next month. This event follows a challenging period for both leaders: \u200dHarris retreated \u2062from the public eye after her recent electoral loss to Donald Trump, while Biden\u200b has faced criticism for granting a\u200d pardon to his son, Hunter Biden,\u2062 who was awaiting sentencing\u2062 for multiple \u200cfelony \u200ccharges. The president justified the\u2064 pardon by\u2062 stating that it was a \u200dresponse to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-republican-files-proposal-to-create-5-million-fund-that-could-alleviate-trump-legal-fees\/\" title=\"Florida Republican proposes M fund to ease Trump&#039;s legal expenses\">politically motivated legal actions<\/a> against his\u2062 son. Additionally, bipartisan backlash has arisen over\u200d the president&#8217;s decision\u200b to\u200c intervene in\u2063 his son&#8217;s legal issues, with \u200bsome lawmakers\u2062 suggesting \u200cthat Biden might consider pardoning Trump to promote national unity.\u2062 meanwhile, congressional Democrats are\u200b advocating\u2063 for \u2062the president to use his\u200c remaining weeks in office to grant \u2064clemency to nonviolent offenders and those on death row.The Christmas event will\u2062 also\u2062 see\u2064 Harris and her\u200b husband Doug Emhoff\u200b participate, as \u200cshe\u2064 contemplates her future career\u200b path following the \u2062election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Biden and Harris unite for final White House Christmas tree lighting amid backlash<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1903465\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a> and Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kamala Harris<\/a> will host the final National Christmas Tree Lighting of their administration on Thursday evening before leaving office next month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The pair will reunite for the annual tradition on the Ellipse after Harris retreated from the public eye following her loss to President-elect Donald Trump in November and as Biden has avoided any press conference regarding his surprise blanket pardon of his son, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hunter-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Hunter Biden<\/a>, on Sunday before jetting off to visit the West African nation Angola.<\/p>\n<p>Biden said the Justice Department unfairly targeted his son in explaining the pardon.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,&rdquo; Biden said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3222408\/joe-biden-lame-duck-session-trump-proof-legacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>BIDEN TO USE LAME-DUCK SESSION TO &lsquo;TRUMP-PROOF&rsquo; LEGACY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>First lady Jill Biden told reporters Monday, &ldquo;Of course I support the pardon of my son,&rdquo; while unveiling Christmas decorations in the East Room.<\/p>\n<p>Hunter Biden was criminally convicted in two <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">federal felony cases involving drug<\/a> and gun charges, along with failure to pay tax charges. He was awaiting sentencing in both cases but will avoid prison time in the wake of the sweeping pardon.<\/p>\n<p>The president faced growing bipartisan backlash from lawmakers who accused him of improperly using his powers after repeatedly saying he wouldn&rsquo;t intervene in his son&rsquo;s legal problems.<\/p>\n<p>Some lawmakers have suggested that the president <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3248256\/will-joe-biden-pardon-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">could pardon<\/a> Trump as a gesture of unity for the nation and to help ease the criticisms he has faced.<\/p>\n<p>However, senior White House aides are reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3250699\/white-house-blanket-pardons-officials-trump-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">weighing preemptive pardons<\/a> to people Trump has signaled he would prosecute when he returns to office, such as Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA) and former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney.<\/p>\n<p>Congressional Democrats are urging the president to grant clemency to nonviolent offenders and inmates who are on death row.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oh-i-know-rep-tlaib-brushes-off-human-traffickers-being-released-in-prison-reform-bill\/\" title=\"\u2018Oh, I Know\u2019: Rep. Tlaib Brushes Off Human Traffickers Being Released In Prison Reform Bill\">federal prison system<\/a> whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,&rdquo; said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) <a href=\"https:\/\/jeffries.house.gov\/2024\/12\/03\/leader-jeffries-statement-on-presidential-pardons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">in a statement<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Fresh off last month&rsquo;s electoral loss to Trump, Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will also appear at the Christmas lighting as she continues to map out a career path post-2024.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&rsquo;s aides have cast blame on the resounding loss and, at times, even on the president&rsquo;s decision to run for a second term and his eventual exit in late July.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A 107 days, two weeks f***ed up because of a hurricane, two weeks talking about how she didn&rsquo;t do interviews. Which, you know, she was doing plenty, but we were doing it in our own way,&rdquo; said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3239705\/democrats-should-have-nominated-someone-else-not-kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jen O&rsquo;Malley Dillon<\/a>, who chaired Harris&rsquo;s campaign, during a <em>Pod Save America<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3242909\/harris-campaign-chairwoman-blames-loss-media-and-weather\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">interview<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We had to, you know, be the nominee, had to find a running mate and do a rollout. I mean, there was all these things that you kind of want to factor in,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Malley Dillon added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3222249\/how-kamala-harris-plowed-through-1-billion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>HOW KAMALA HARRIS PLOWED THROUGH $1 BILLION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2024\/12\/harris-team-election\/680844\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the <em>Atlantic<\/em><\/a>, David Plouffe, who served in a top advisory role&nbsp;on the Harris campaign, conceded that no Democrat would have prevailed against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure, given the headwinds, any Democrat could have won,&rdquo; he said, although he lamented the quick consolidation behind Harris after Biden dropped out. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But if we had a primary in which a bunch of people ran and auditioned &hellip; through that process, whoever emerged &hellip; would have been a more fully formed person, would have had more time to mount a general election campaign. [Not having that process] is the cardinal sin,&rdquo; Plouffe continued.<\/p>\n<p>After leaving the White House, Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/11\/25\/kamala-harris-advisers-options-open-00191393\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">could run<\/a> for California&rsquo;s gubernatorial race in 2026 or even begin preparation for a 2028 presidential run, in which she would actually undergo the primary process.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">First lady Jill Biden arrives for an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, to give her holiday message to the nation and to thank the volunteers who helped decorate the White House for the holiday season. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mickey Guyton will host the Christmas tree lighting, and Adam Blackstone, Stephen Sanchez, James Taylor, Muni Long, Trombone Shorty, The War and Treaty, and Trisha Yearwood will perform during the event.<\/p>\n<p>The White House theme for this year&rsquo;s holiday season is &ldquo;Season of Peace &amp; Light.&rdquo; Roughly 100,000 people are expected to visit the East Colonnade and attend nearly two dozen holiday parties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1903465\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1903465\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden and Harris hold final Christmas tree lighting amid criticism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2658,"featured_media":2376666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/biden-harris-veterans.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3620,6922,4021,8525],"class_list":["post-2376665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-biden","tag-christmas","tag-harris","tag-reunion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/biden-harris-veterans.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2376665"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2376669,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376665\/revisions\/2376669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2376666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2376665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2376665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2376665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}