On Mother’s Day, first lady Jill Biden made an unannounced trip to Europe, slipping from Slovakia into Ukraine to meet with her counterpart in the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, her husband, the president of the United States, headed to the golf course to play a round with his brother.
A reporter covering the president’s weekend visit to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, chronicled Biden’s golf trip.
“Pool joined the president’s motorcade near the Biden residence at 3:22pm ET,” Los Angeles Times reporter Courtney Subramanian said in a pool report. “Pool arrived at the Fieldstone Golf Club at 3:29 pm ET. Pool has not seen POTUS today. We’re headed to the hold location.”
Later, she wrote: “POTUS is golfing with his brother Jimmy, per the WH.”
A few hours later, Biden rolled out. “Pool joined the president’s motorcade outside Fieldstone Golf Club at 6:30 p.m. Motorcade is rolling,” the reporter wrote.
Meanwhile, 5,000 miles away, the first lady was sneaking into Ukraine.
First, Jill Biden visited a bus station in Kosice, Slovakia, which serves as a processing center for Ukrainians fleeing the war. She then moved to a border crossing between the two countries, where she visited a chapel and met with volunteers.
Tyler Pager, a White House reporter with The Washington Post, was traveling with the first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) and released this pool report after she had safely returned to Slovakia.
“Note: This pool report was under embargo until directions from the WH for security reasons,” Pager wrote. “FLOTUS’ motorcade crossed the border into Ukraine at 2:41 p.m. (Slovakia time) for an unannounced visit.”
“FLOTUS exited her vehicle at 2:51 and met the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. The two women hugged and FLOTUS gave her a bouquet of flowers. This is the first time Zelenska has appeared in public since Feb. 24, the date of the Russian invasion, per U.S. official. The official also said the two first ladies have exchanged correspondences in the last few weeks.”
“Pool asked FLOTUS what it meant to make this visit: ‘I wanted to come on Mother’s Day. I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.'”
Pager asked Zelenska “what FLOTUS’ visit meant to her. She answered in Ukrainian and the following quotes are from a translator. ‘First of all, I would like to thank you for a very courageous act. Because we understand what it takes for the US First Lady to come here during a war when the military actions are taking place every day, where the air sirens are happening every day even today.'”
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.