On Thursday (December 22), President Joe Biden delivered remarks from the White House, sharing his hope that this Christmas season would change the tide of American politics.
Biden expressed his wish that Christmas would “drain the poison” affecting American politics and that the season would mark “a fresh start” for the U.S.
He asserted that there was so much more to unite than divide Americans.
The President claimed American politics had become “angry,” “mean,” and “partisan,” with Americans viewing “each other as enemies, not as neighbors,” and that party affiliation meant more than being a fellow American.
Biden also expressed that the message at the center of Christmas is “universal,” drawing on hope, peace, love, and joy.
Biden, who is Catholic, asked Americans to “take a few moments of quiet reflection” and “really look at each other,” not as party-affiliated but as “fellow Americans” worthy of “dignity and respect.”
The President also acknowledged how the festive season could be a bleak period for some, noting that he had lost his first wife and daughter in 1972 while they were Christmas tree shipping in Delaware.
He also called on the country to “spread a little kindness,” “be a helping hand,” and a “friendly voice.”
Biden went on to list the significant historical events around Christmas, including former President Franklin D. Roosevelt hosting Winston Churchill at the White House in 1941 — many are drawing parallels to Biden hosting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He noted that in 1842, President Lincoln prepared the Emancipation Proclamation to go into effect on January 1, 1843.
