The Bidens’ July 4: Joe goes to mass at his hometown church as Jill speaks in front of Independence Hall before couple heads back to Washington to celebrate 'independence from COVID-19'
Joe Biden started his Independence Day with a trip to church in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
The president emerged from St. Joseph on the Brandywine on Sunday morning and was pictured walking through the cemetery, where his son Beau Biden is buried.
First lady Jill Biden, who is usually alongside her husband for church services, was not pictured this Sunday in Wilmington.
Instead, she was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania attending and speaking at the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony in front of Independence Hall.
Biden spends the majority of his weekends away from Washington in Wilmington, where he is usually pictured attending Catholic mass once – sometime twice – during his two-day stay.
President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, spent his Independence Day morning attending mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware
First lady Jill Biden was not pictured with her husband. Instead she was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania speaking at the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony in front of Independence Hall
Biden and first lady Jill will head back to Washington, D.C. on Sunday afternoon for a BBQ at the White House with first responders and military families where he will make remarks celebrating 'independence from COVID-19'
The first couple will leave Wilmington Sunday afternoon to head back to Washington, D.C. for a July 4 celebration at the White House.
The president will make remarks to mark Independence Day, but the White House notes it will also be a speech celebrating 'independence from COVID-19'.
Essential workers and military families are invited to the Fourth of July BBQ at the White House ahead of Biden's remarks – despite concerns of the Delta variant.
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients defended the event to ABC News.
'The event at the White House is being done in the right way,' he said, assuring it is being conducted 'consistent with CDC guidelines.'
Biden and First Lady Jill will then view the annual fireworks display over the National Mall from the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris is spending her holiday at her home in Los Angeles, California.
Before heading back to D.C., Biden stopped by Wilmington Country Club for a round of golf with former Senator Ted Kaufman.
Ahead of the holiday, Biden's administration has lauded their vaccine push and insisted that celebrating July 4 in the traditional way is safe again – as long as all the people engaging in the festivities have received the jab.
However, the U.S. missed Biden's goal of getting 160 million Americans fully immunized by the mid-summer holiday. He also wanted at least 70 per cent of adults to have received at least one shot by July 4, 2021, a second vaccine goal that was not reached.
The president departs service and walks through the cemetery, where his son Beau is buried, to his car
Zients, who succeeded Dr. Deborah Birx, said the failure could be due to young people who were made eligible for the vaccine much later than adults.
He also told ABC's This Week on Sunday that this demographic has 'felt less vulnerable to the disease.'
'We made a lot of progress,' Zients praised in a separate interview with CNN's State of the Union on Sunday morning. 'I think we're much further along than anyone would have anticipated at this point.'