Former first couple Barack and Michelle Obama will return to the White House for the unveiling of their official White House portraits, the Associated Press reported. U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden will host the couple on Wednesday.
This would restart a tradition that was discontinued during the time former President Donald Trump was in office. Traditionally first-term presidents host their predecessors for the event as a mark of camaraderie.
Obama did the honors in 2012 when he hosted George W. Bush and his spouse Laura Bush for the unveiling of their White House portraits. Bush himself hosted Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton when he was the president.
Michelle Obama would return to the White House for the first time since Jan. 2017, when her husband’s presidential tenure ended. Barack Obama, meanwhile, visited the place in April to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the signing of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
The portraits are reportedly financed by the White House Historical Association. Before the presidents and first ladies leave, the association discusses with them the portrait process and gets input from them regarding the artists and how they would want to get it done, the Associated Press reported.
Aside from the White House portraits, the National Portrait Gallery also houses portraits of presidents and first ladies. The portraits of the Obamas were unveiled by the gallery in 2018 and they had the distinction of being the first to be made by black artists.
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