Biden jokes he is giving up the press for Lent

President Biden joked that he is giving up the press for Lent to mark Ash Wednesday.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden viewed the Valentine’s Day decorations on the north lawn of the White House on Wednesday afternoon, and on his way back into the White House, he was asked by reporters what he was giving up for Lent.

“You guys,” he replied.

Biden attended mass at the White House in observation of Ash Wednesday and received his ashes, a White House source told The Hill.

Ash Wednesday, which fell on Valentine’s Day this year, marks the first day of Lent for many Christians, including Roman Catholics. Biden is only the second Catholic president in U.S. history.

In 2022, Biden, a well-known ice cream lover, said he gave up sweets for Lent.

That year, Biden received ashes from Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the White House in a private mass. The White House did not say who gave Biden ashes this year.

Last year, the president was in Warsaw for Ash Wednesday and attended a private Catholic Mass in a hotel room with a Polish priest. The president was seen later that day with a cross of ashes on his forehead during a summit with NATO allies.

The president did not publicly say what, if anything, he gave up last year.

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