President Joe Biden Celebrates The New Year With His Family In The US Virgin Islands

Illustration of President Joe Biden with wife Jill Biden and family members. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden traveled to the US Virgin Islands, to celebrate the new year with his family, rebuilding the tradition of his time as vice president from 2009 to 2017.

On this occasion, President Biden was accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley and her husband Howard Krein, as well as two grandchildren from the late Beau Biden, Natalie and Hunter, reported The National News December 29.

"We are very honored," happened Plaskett, a Democrat politician representing the Virgin Islands in Congress, told The Associated Press.

"In the past, when he and his family came, of course, President Biden's appearance was almost a legend," he said.

The family last visited the island in 2019, Biden was a civilian and local resident saw the couple celebrate the new year at the Millennium Point Udall Monument, which was built in 2000.

It said Joe Biden's family usually sleeps on beach properties along East End Road, St Croix Island. Apart from the island, the US Virgin Islands also consists of two other islands, St Thomas and St John.

Local media reported President Joe Biden attending mass at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Christiansted during his previous visit.

President Biden and his grandson Hunter (16) golfed on the 18th pitch of the Buccaneer Beach and Golf Resort in the City of Christiansted. The site features spectacular views of Caribbean Sea blue waters and island coastlines.

Late Friday, President Biden and his wife recorded an interview that will air Saturday night on ABC "Dick Clark's New Years Rockin Eve with Ryan Sea pilih." They also invited Hunter and his sister, Natalie, to dinner at one of the best restaurants on the island.

President Biden will be the first president to visit the region since Bill Clinton's visit in the 1990s. Barack Obama was seen in 2007 when he ran for president.

Earlier, President Biden spent a vacation at his home in Delaware in 2020 and 2021, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're always looking forward to his arrival and we really understand that this is a place of relaxation for him, Jill and any other family he might bring, so we leave him alone and let him relax," said Donna Christensen, who was Plaskett's predecessor at Congress.

"He usually says: 'In my next life, I live in St Croix.'"

Both Plaskett and Christensen expressed hope that the attention given to President Biden's year-end holiday would strengthen the challenges facing the Virgin Islands and other US regions, including threats from climate change and aging infrastructure.

President Biden is scheduled to return to Washington on January 2. That was the day before the Democratic Party leader handed over control of the US House of Representatives to Republicans after a part-time election in November. However, Democrats who are parties from the President will continue to control the Senate in the US Congress.