Biden "First Lady Preparing to Attend Tokyo Olympics" (Comprehensive)

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President Joe Biden of the United States and First Lady Jill Biden [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden said he is preparing for First Lady Jill Biden to attend the Tokyo Olympics. This is interpreted as a willingness to support the Olympic hosting by an allied country by sending the First Lady despite the COVID-19 situation.

On the 29th (local time), President Biden responded to a reporter's question about whether First Lady Jill Biden would attend the Tokyo Olympics by saying, "We are preparing."

Earlier, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Jill Biden would lead the U.S. delegation to Japan and attend the opening ceremony. Bloomberg News also reported, citing a spokesperson for Jill Biden, that her visit to Japan is being considered.

However, a day earlier, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that President Biden would not attend the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, which begins on the 23rd of next month. The only time a U.S. president attended an Olympic opening ceremony was at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The only case of a U.S. First Lady attending an Olympic opening ceremony was at the 2012 London Games in the United Kingdom. At that time, Michelle Obama, wife of President Barack Obama, attended the opening ceremony held in allied Britain.

The United States has mostly sent cabinet-level officials to Olympic opening ceremonies.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the Secretary of Homeland Security served as the head of the delegation, but Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea and attended the opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, the White House announced that President Biden and the First Lady will visit Surfside, Florida, where a 12-story apartment building collapsed, on the 1st of next month.

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