Bidens Spend Thanksgiving Calling Military Members to Express Gratitude for Their Service

President Joe Biden/Instagram Jill Biden (left), Joe Biden

Just days after Joe Biden celebrated the White House wedding of his granddaughter and his own 80th birthday, the president — alongside First Lady Dr. Jill Biden — ushered in the holiday season by calling military members to thank them for their service.

In the afternoon, the president and first lady called "units from each branch of our military, stationed around the world, to thank them and their families for their service to the country," according to a pool report. The couple spoke to service members stationed at sea, in Europe and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Also on Thanksgiving, the Bidens paid a visit to a fire house in Nantucket, Massachusetts, bringing along their youngest grandchild, Beau, and an armful of pumpkin pies.

According to a pool report, Fire Chief Michael Cranson gave the president several Local 2509 hats, one of which the president put on, as pumpkin pies were being delivered. Beau, meanwhile, was given a miniature fire hat.

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Earlier on Thanksgiving, the Bidens made a special call to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, speaking with Today co-host Dylan Dreyer to share their good wishes to Americans, especially first responders, and Al Roker.

"I want to say thanks to the firefighters, the police officers, first responders. They never take a break," the president said. "And by the way, we're gonna be talking to some of our troops later today, both here and abroad."

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Elsewhere in the call, Biden said he was "going to give Al a call, too, see how he's doing," an acknowledgment of Roker, who had to miss the 96th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after walking the parade route for 27 years because he's recovering from blood clots in his leg and lungs that sent him to the hospital earlier this month.

The couple has spent the past several days making appearances at festive events.

On Monday, the president wished American families a safe and healthy holiday while participating in the annual White House turkey pardoning on the South Lawn. The turkey and its alternate, named Chocolate and Chip, were raised near Monroe, North Carolina.

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Later that afternoon the president and first lady traveled to Marine Corps Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, where they joined service members and military families for a Friendsgiving dinner as part of the White House Joining Forces initiative.

On Tuesday the Bidens traveled to Nantucket to mark the holiday with family. The Bidens have visited the Massachusetts island every year since 1975, except for during the pandemic in 2020, and in 2015, several months after the couple's beloved son Beau died after battling brain cancer.

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"I knew how hard it would be to come back, but this year, the grandkids had asked," Dr. Biden wrote in an essay for Oprah Daily when they resumed the tradition in 2016. "They wanted to be together and feel normal again. So, Joe and I said yes."

The Bidens will return from their annual Thanksgiving getaway on Sunday.