First Lady Dr. Jill Biden had a packed schedule as she watched the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday. She found herself seated next to President Emmanuel Macron, with the appropriate social distancing, as they encouraged their respective women’s basketball teams to victory. Biden proved to be a victorious cheerleader as Team USA won over favorites as well as No.1 ranked team France at the Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo.
Later on Saturday, Biden went to the Saitama Stadium to watch the Group G women’s soccer match between Team USA and New Zealand. The Americans won 6-1 as they played in front of the First Lady. The team had lost an earlier match to Sweden 3-0. It was a surprising loss as the women’s team had a 44-game unbeaten record since 2019. The team had also scored in every game since 2017 and this was the first game played without a score.
WATCH: First lady Jill Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron watched their nations’ respective teams compete on the 3×3 basketball court during the sport's Olympic debut at #Tokyo2020, with the Americans pulling out an upset victory https://t.co/9JwuG7NpKg pic.twitter.com/NCaSQeWj6N
— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) July 25, 2021
Earlier on Saturday, she had an Olympics watch party for the embassy staff at the home of the ambassador of Tokyo. They watched the Team USA vs Mexico softball game. Many of the staff wore masks that sported the US flag. The First Lady wore a mask that had an embroidered US flag and her name at the Games.
She thanked the staff for services rendered to the nation and for making arrangements for her trip to Tokyo. She apologized for not being able to offer them food and wine but the staff had said that they wouldn’t be taking off their masks.
She had a busy day on Friday as well. She attended the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Earlier she and President Macron, two of the dignitaries at the Olympics, had attended a reception at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. It was hosted by Emperor Naruhito, the Emperor of Japan. She also met the Prime Minister of Japan and his wife.
On Friday, President Biden had joked that the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, whom he had invited as the first head of state to visit the White House, had made it clear that he didn’t want Joe Biden but had wanted Jill Biden to visit Japan for the Tokyo Olympics.
