WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — The White House always draws an assortment of celebrities, some because they are seeking support for their favorite cause and others who simply want to meet the president of the United States.
In the last few weeks, though, the range has been even starker.
On Wednesday, former Spice Girls member Geri Halliwell, known by her nickname “Ginger Spice,” was in the White House Rose Garden as President Joe Biden embarked on Marine One en route to Racine, Wisconsin. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who is friends with Halliwell, brought her as a guest for a White House tour.
Last Friday, a celebrity of a different dimension descended upon the White House: Luke Skywalker. Actor Mark Hamill met the president and even made a brief appearance at the beginning of the daily White House press briefing with Karine Jean-Pierre.
“I just got to meet the president. He gave me these aviator glasses,” Hamill told reporters. He then turned serious: “I was honored to be asked to come to the White House to meet the president — the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime.”
Hamill finished his brief remarks with a joke: “You know, I called him ‘Mr. President.’ He said, ‘You can call me ‘Joe.’ And I said, ‘Can I call you ‘Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi’?’ He liked that.”
Biden and Hamill also joined forces to record a video, released on May 4th, “Star Wars Day,” when fans like to say, “May the Fourth be with you.”
Hollywood stars can often cause a lot of commotion and excitement among White House staff and the press corps when they stop by.
Actor Ralph Fiennes created a buzz when he also visited Biden last week. The White House said Biden escorted Fiennes — known for many roles including as Voldemort in the “Harry Potter” movies — into the Rose Garden prior to taking off on Marine One.
Because the president was showing him around, the Secret Service did not allow people to move throughout the White House grounds, preventing the press corps from being able to cover Biden’s departure.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment on the recent array of celebrity visitors.
Kim Kardashian, one of the most famous faces in the world, has brought her advocacy for criminal justice reform to both Republican and Democratic administrations. Late last month, she attended a roundtable with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the issue and recent pardons issued by Biden.
“I’m so honored to be here to continue this fight, to learn more every day, every visit, every administration,” Kardashian said. “I’m just here to help spread the word.”
During the Trump administration, Kardashian spoke at a 2019 event to advocate for the commutation of a woman named Alice Marie Johnson, who served 21 years for a nonviolent drug offense. Trump commuted her sentence that year.
Harris also met with cast members of “A Different World” at the White House in April to discuss historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and student loan debt.
“The vice president, who hails from California, is accustomed to bringing different folks together, leveraging these partnerships to have meaningful engagement and bring attention to critical issues of our time,” a White House official told NewsNation. “She’s leveraging different platforms to reach different audiences to get the message out there.”
