The White House and President Joe Biden decided to celebrate May the 4th a day early. On May 3rd, the president met with actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalkers in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Hamill then spoke at a White House press briefing.
“How many of you had ‘Mark Hamill will lead the press briefing’ on your bingo cards?” the actor quipped as he took the podium at the White House. “Yeah, me either.”
Given the upcoming “Star Wars” holiday and Hamill being an outspoken Biden supporter, this wasn’t completely out of the blue. This also isn’t his first visit to the white house, considering he visited while Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama were in office.
“I never was invited into the Oval Office,” Hamill pointed out. “I only expected to be there for, like, five minutes [but] he showed us all these photographs…It was really amazing to me.”
As a token of Biden’s appreciation, the president gifted him a pair of his signature aviator sunglasses. Which Hamill proudly wore into the press briefing, removing them when he took to a podium. “I love the merch,” he joked.
Biden’s New Nickname
But what good Jedi would accept a gift without giving something in return? “I asked him what I should call him,” Hamill recounted. “and he said, ‘You can call me Joe.’ I said, ‘Can I call you Joe-B-Wan Kenobi?’ He liked that.”
While the nature of their discussion was never disclosed, we think a “Star Wars” moniker is justification enough.
You can watch his full speech during the briefing below. May the 4th be with you.
