With much humor for him, with seriousness for her, Barack and Michelle Obama unveiled their official portraits at the White House on Wednesday, reviving a tradition of political courtesy broken by Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden, along with his wife Jill, extensively reminisced about his eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president, recalling the camaraderie that bound them together.
“We were counting on you. And I’m still counting on you,” he said. “He couldn’t have done it without you,” she also slipped to Michelle Obama, emphasizing the bonds created between the two families.
“You he was with me when my son was dying,” the 79-year-old Democrat reminded Barack Obama, who delivered the funeral tribute to Beau Biden, who died of cancer. “You will never realize how important it was to Jill and me.” Joe Biden said.
The couple then unveiled the paintings, which will now adorn the walls of the White House, and which were made from photographs. Robert McCurdy’s portrait of Barack Obama shows him standing with his hands in the pockets of a dark suit, the shadow of a smile on his lips, painted ultra-realistically on a white background.
On Michelle Obama, by Sharon Sprung, the former First Lady poses on a sofa in the “Red Room” of the White House, wearing a light blue evening dress, her eyes direct and a hint of amusement in her expression.
“America is very lucky to have you”
Barack Obama, with the oratorical ease that characterizes him, chained a few jokes about his visit to the White House and about his portrait, deploring that the artist did not hide his white hair or reduce the size of his ears. He also paid tribute to his former vice president, “a true friend.”
“Joe, the United States is very lucky to have you as president,” he said to applause from the crowd, which included many of his former staff.
Michelle Obama, in a much more political speech than her husband’s, insisted on the symbol represented by these portraits of the first black president of the United States, and the first African-American “First Lady”.
“The girl that I was wasn’t supposed to live in this house,” or have her portrait hang next to Jacqueline Kennedy’s, she said. “What we are seeing … is a reminder that there is a place for everyone in this country.”
Source: BFM TV
