Biden relishes return of holiday traditions in US
NANTUCKET, Mass. — President Joe Biden on Thursday wished Americans a happy and closer-to-normal Thanksgiving, the second celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, in remarks welcoming the resumption of holiday traditions by millions of families — including his own.
“As we give thanks for what we have, we also keep in our hearts those who have been lost and those who have lost so much,” the president said in a videotaped greeting recorded with first lady Jill Biden at the White House before their trip to Nantucket for the holiday.
On the island, the Bidens visited the Coast Guard station at Brant Point to meet virtually with U.S. servicemembers from around the world and personnel at the station.
“I’m not joking when I say I’m thankful for these guys,” Biden said when asked what he was thankful for, referring to the Coast Guard members.
Reporters were kept out of the room for Biden’s virtual remarks, apparently because of tight space in the building. Well-wishers waved and cheered as Biden’s motorcade navigated the island’s narrow paved and cobblestone streets to and from the Coast Guard compound.
Biden, whose late son Beau was a major in the Delaware Army National
Guard, said he has watched U.S. servicemembers in action around the world, from the South China Sea and Iraq and Afghanistan to South America. He said when foreigners wonder what America is, “they don’t see us here,” meaning civilians. “They see them,” he said of members of the Coast Guard and the other branches of the U.S. military. “It makes me proud.”
Biden is expected to return to the White House on Sunday.