On Friday, NBC’s Today wasted away three minutes and 18 seconds (plus a tease) in its second hour gushing over Saturday’s White House wedding of Naomi Biden (whom the Free Beacon described as “the oldest legitimate daughter of amateur adult film star Hunter Biden”) and her fiancé Peter despite the fact that, as would later be detailed in the White House press briefing, one in which cameras and press coverage are banned.
And, in news the liberal media revealed on Friday, Hunter’s eldest and her fiancé having been lived on the taxpayer’s dime at the White House with their grandparents.
“White House wedding. As President Biden's granddaughter prepares to say I do, a look inside the rare celebration, one of 18 weddings ever held at the White House,” boasted co-host Savannah Guthrie, adding the show would tell viewers “[w]hat to expect at this weekend's festivities as we look back at some historic ceremonies.”
Co-host Craig Melvin was similarly ebullient, stating “the White House is putting politics on hold this weekend to bring two sides together.”
Chief White House correspondent Kristen Welker had the story and noted right off the top that she’s the “daughter of Hunter Biden” and “about to join a small club of brides who’ve gotten married here at the White House” as “[o]nly 18 couples have said I do here”
Welker laid it on thick:
But this will be the first wedding on the South Lawn. Naomi is incredibly close with her grandfather who she calls pop. A wedding fit for a First Granddaughter in the ultimate venue. Instead of saying “Hail to the Chief,” they are saying “Here Comes the Bride” at the White House this weekend. 28-year-old Naomi Biden, the first granddaughter of the President and First Lady, is about to say I do to her long-time love, 25-year-old Peter Neal.
After a soundbite from pathetic Biden spinster Michael LaRosa that the wedding would be “infused with a lot of love, a lot of laughter, and traditions,” Welker ran through a portion of the history of White House weddings with the last having come in June 1971 when President Nixon’s eldest daughter Tricia married Edward Cox
Welker also paid homage to the weddings of Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Alice Roosevelt Longworth in 1906 and Lyndon Baines Johnson’s oldest Lynda Bird Johnson Rob in 1967 and ran a soundbite for former First Lady Laura Bush Chief of Staff Anita McBride as having said that “[n]o matter how you may feel about a particular administration, you can't help but be happy” for anyone who gets married by becoming such a “unique and special part of history.”
Tossing back to Melvin, Welker noted the couple “already live[s] here at the White House” and passed along the claim that “the Bidens are paying for all of the festivities.”
Fast-forward a few hours to the White House briefing and ABC’s MaryAlice Parks dropped this key detail: “Why is the White House going against precedent and not letting any journalists cover a bit of this wedding that is taking place here at the people's house?”
If this had been Republican President having their granddaughter or child married and they shooed away journalists, we know this would be front-page news with cringeworthy panels on CNN and MSNBC.
Nonetheless, the press allowed Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to insist the wedding’s “a private...family event and Naomi and Peter have asked that their wedding be closed to the media and we are respecting their wishes.”
“This is something that the couple has decided,” she added.
Welker took her shot later on and, again, Jean-Pierre told the press to just accept the wishes of the bride and groom (which certainly wouldn’t be respected if, say, Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis were in the White House) (click “expand”):
WELKER: If I can try one more on the White House wedding. As I’m filing on this wedding and previewing it for folks, I’m looking at all of this video and images that we have of, Trisha Nixon's wedding, Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s wedding, the Johnson family’s wedding and the historic record that now exists because the press was let in and able to get a glimpse of it. Why not just let the press in for a few minutes to have access and again, this is a wedding that's happening here at the people's house —
JEAN-PIERRE: Oh.
WELKER: — not at a private residence.
JEAN-PIERE: — I totally understand. It's happening at the people's house. It's a beautiful moment. It's a joyous moment between these two young — this two young couple [sic] Who have decided — it is their decision. They have decided to make this wedding private. It is a family event. It is. And we are going to respect Naomi and Peter's wishes. This is going to be, you know. the wedding of — of — the — the First Lady and the President says first grandchild. And these are the sweet their wishes. They want it to be private. And we're going to respect their wishes. We are going to provide a photo and a statement from the President and the First Lady after the wedding. And again, these are their wishes and we're going to respect that.
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To see the relevant transcript from November 18, click “expand.”
NBC’s Today
November 18, 2022
8:00 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: White House Wedding]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Then, White House wedding. As President Biden's granddaughter prepares to say I do, a look inside the rare celebration, one of 18 weddings ever held at the White House.
MICHAEL LAROSA: It's going to be a wedding infused with a lot of love, a lot of laughter, and traditions.
GUTHRIE: What to expect at this weekend's festivities as we look back at some historic ceremonies.
(....)
8:04 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: News at 8; White House Wedding Tomorrow for Biden Family]
CRAIG MELVIN: Meanwhile, the White House is putting politics on hold this weekend to bring two sides together. President Biden's granddaughter Naomi is getting married tomorrow at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. NBC's chief White House correspondent and Weekend Today co-anchor Kristen Welker has some inside details for us. Kristen, good morning.
KRISTEN WELKER: Hi, Craig. Good morning to you. Naomi Biden, daughter of Hunter Biden is about to join a small club of brides who’ve gotten married here at the White House. Only 18 couples have said I do here. But this will be the first wedding on the South Lawn. Naomi is incredibly close with her grandfather who she calls pop. A wedding fit for a First Granddaughter in the ultimate venue. Instead of saying “Hail to the Chief,” they are saying “Here Comes the Bride” at the White House this weekend. 28-year-old Naomi Biden, the first granddaughter of the President and First Lady, is about to say I do to her long-time love, 25-year-old Peter Neal. The bride-to-be revealing on social media the venue will be the South Lawn. Michael LaRosa is the former press secretary to First Lady Jill Biden.
LAROSA: It's going to be a wedding infused with a lot of love, a lot of laughter, and traditions.
WELKER: White House weddings are rare. Only 18 in U.S. History. The last time an immediate member of the First Family got married here more than 50 years ago.
BARBARA WALTERS [on 06/12/71]: On the arm of her father, both smiling, very happy.
WELKER: When Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of former President Richard Nixon, said I do in the Rose Garden. But it was Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s wedding in 1906 that is considered the greatest in White House history, attended by more than 1,000 people and dominating headlines for weeks. Decades later in 1967, another unforgettable affair when Lynda Bird Johnson Rob, daughter of LBJ, tied the knot in the East Room, wowing her 500 guests in her satin gown, her groom in his military uniform.
FEMALE REPORTER [in 1967]: They say that home weddings are the nicest. And if home happens to be the White House, so much the better.
WELKER: In 2008, Today’s Jenna Bush Hager, who married her love Henry Hager in Texas, celebrated with a White House reception a month later. But you don't have to be related to the First Family to get married here. About a decade ago, Pete Souza, the official Obama White House photographer, held his nuptials in the Rose Garden. Anita McBride, the former chief of staff to former First Lady Laura Bush, says a White House wedding is always an event to remember.
ANITA MCBRIDE: No matter how you may feel about a particular administration, you can't help but be happy for a couple who is starting their lives and to have it happen at the White House, that's a very unique and special part of history.
WELKER: Unique indeed. Well, look, the Bidens are celebrating a lot this weekend. President Biden turns 80 on Sunday. As for the wedding, the Bidens are paying for all of the festivities. And perhaps the best part, guys, Naomi and Pete don’t have to travel very far because they already live right here at the White House, Craig.
MELVIN: A big weekend there at 1600. Kristen Welker for us this morning. Kristen, thank you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
White House press briefing [via Washington Post Live]
November 18, 2022
4:19 p.m. EasternMARYALICE PARKS: If I could just ask one more about this weekend. Why is the White House going against precedent and not letting any journalists cover a bit of this wedding that is taking place here at the people's house?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: So, let me just give you a little bit of a wedding tick-tock because I know many of you had some questions. So, 11 a.m. the ceremony on the south lawn will begin. Family wedding, party, lunch and immediately after and then there will be an evening reception. On this very joyous occasion, these are two young people who have decided that they want to spend the rest of their life together. And the President and the First Lady are going to be able to participate in their first grandchild’s wedding. But here's the thing and here's — here's the reality. The wedding of Naomi Biden and Peter is a private one. The family — it’s a family event and Naomi and Peter have asked that their wedding be closed to the media and we are respecting their wishes. This is something that the couple has decided. So — but understanding you all have interests, understanding that the media has interest in this, which I can understand. It is a joyous occasion. We all want to celebrate them. We will be releasing — we will be releasing pictures — photos and a statement from the President and the First Lady — of — following the ceremony. Again, this is their wish and we should be — we should be thrilled — thrilled and happy for them in making this really important step in their lives.
(....)
4:37 p.m. Eastern
KRISTEN WELKER: If I can try one more on the White House wedding. As I’m filing on this wedding and previewing it for folks, I’m looking at all of this video and images that we have of, Trisha Nixon's wedding, Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s wedding, the Johnson family’s wedding and the historic record that now exists because the press was let in and able to get a glimpse of it. Why not just let the press in for a few minutes to have access and again, this is a wedding that's happening here at the people's house —
JEAN-PIERRE: Oh.
WELKER: — not at a private residence.
JEAN-PIERE: — I totally understand. It's happening at the people's house. It's a beautiful moment. It's a joyous moment between these two young — this two young couple [sic] Who have decided — it is their decision. They have decided to make this wedding private. It is a family event. It is. And we are going to respect Naomi and Peter's wishes. This is going to be, you know. the wedding of — of — the — the First Lady and the President says first grandchild. And these are the sweet their wishes. They want it to be private. And we're going to respect their wishes. We are going to provide a photo and a statement from the President and the First Lady after the wedding. And again, these are their wishes and we're going to respect that.
