White House Press Corps Crying Over Naomi Biden Wedding Snub
The Fourth Estate was denied the opportunity to report on her first-dance song pick
Naomi Biden got married over the weekend. Mazel tov, Naomi and random husband. A reasonable reaction to this news item might include asking, “Who is Naomi Biden?” Or: “Who did she marry?” Or: “Did the groom’s mother write a book about having died during a 1999 kayaking trip in Chile, and subsequently meeting ‘a group of 15 to 20 souls (human spirits sent by God)’ who greeted her with ‘the most overwhelming joy’ she had ever experienced and could ever imagine?”
The answers to those questions are:
- Hunter Biden’s daughter and Joe Biden’s granddaughter.
- Her boyfriend of three years, recent law school grad Peter Neal.
- Yes, the book was called To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels and Life Again.
But the White House Press Corps and select other journalists are asking themselves something else: Why were reporters not invited? The reason for this inquiry is that on Nov. 18, White House Press Secretary Karine Jeanne-Pierre announced that the Bidens had decided to keep the wedding private. “It is a family event,” she told the crowd. “We are going to respect Naomi and Peter's wishes." As the New York Post reported Saturday, they ensured that privacy by erecting temporary fencing around the park separating the White House from the Washington Monument.
Tuesday morning, however, Vogue published an “exclusive” spread of wedding photos with an accompanying article. The lede of the piece suggests the photos and interviews were conducted several days before the wedding itself. But the D.C. reporters whose lives revolve around daily press briefings and dissecting the inane minutiae of political errands nevertheless began melting down:
In fairness to them, Gawker would have loved and accepted an invitation to Naomi Biden’s wedding at the White House. But like all of these liars, we would have tried to steal the wedding mic to ask her father about his sensory deprivation tanks, her grandfather about the Child Tax Credit, and her mother-in-law to elaborate on that run-in with God’s spirits. There are also some interesting questions to ask Naomi and Peter themselves. But maybe these White House groupies should dig into something slightly more important, or at least treat this mild breach of protocol as adults should — with indifference.
In sum, a very happy Thanksgiving to Matt Yglesias, with whom we agree for once.
