In Romania, Jill Biden gives ketchup to U.S. troops
MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR
Delivering BASE, ROMANIA — good cheer and gallons
— of ketchup Jill Biden on
—
Friday thanked U.S. troops deployed to Romania for serving as a check against Russian aggression as she opened a two-country European trip to learn about the refugee crisis caused by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. first lady flew overnight from Washington and landed just in time to help serve dinner at Romania’s Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base near the Black Sea and about 60 miles from the border with Ukraine. The base is temporarily home to about 1,600 of the several thousand troops President Joe Biden deployed to Eastern Europe in the leadup to the Russia-Ukraine war.
In the food line, Jill Biden dished up macaroni and cheese and baked potatoes — and encouraged fatigueclad troops to have some greens, too — before she greeted groups of them as they ate at round tables in the dining hall. They cheered when she revealed she came bearing ketchup, which was in short supply on the base.
“I know it’s hard on your families,” she told one service member, referencing her own experience when her son Beau Biden deployed to Iraq.
At another location on the base, the first lady joined Staff Sgt. Sharon Rogers to read the children’s book “Night Catch” on videotape for Rogers’ son, Nathan, who lives in Texas. Biden thanked the boy for serving his country, too.
“When your mom serves, the family serves, too, so thank you for your service,” she told Nathan.
For weeks, the first lady has been transfixed by the news coming out of Ukraine.
NATO allies Romania and Slovakia border Ukraine and have taken in some of the millions of mostly women and children who fled after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
The centerpiece of the trip comes Sunday — Mother’s Day — when the mother of three meets with displaced Ukrainians who sought refuge across the border in Slovakia.
Her daughter, Ashley Biden, had planned to accompany her, but backed out Thursday after learning that she was a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19.