Watch the wind, Jill! Biden’s newlywed granddaughter Naomi has to help hold her blue dress down as she lands in a gusty Kenya – and tells fellow first lady Olena Zelensky to ‘keep fighting for freedom’
- Naomi Biden helped Jill Biden hold down her dress upon windy arrival in Kenya
- She kept a hand firmly on the skirt as the wind blew around them
- Jill and Naomi are on a six-day trip to Africa
Naomi Biden helped Jill Biden hold down her dress upon their windy arrival in Kenya on Friday, keeping her grandmother from experiencing an embarrassing moment in front of the cameras.
The first granddaughter, 29, stepped in to help after a gust of wind sent the first lady’s dress up past her knees and into potentially dangerous territory after she stepped out of her blue-and-white Air Force airplane.
Naomi kept one hand firmly on the skirt of Jill Biden’s blue dress as the two walked down the stairs side-by-side.
Jill Biden and her granddaughter are on the third day of their five-day trip to Africa, where they are working on shoring up U.S. relation and trying to counter China’s influence on the continent. They arrived in Nairobi after spending three days in Namibia.
Jill Biden was greeted with gusts of wind upon her arrival on Kenya
Naomi Biden stepped in to help hold down Jill Biden’s skirt
The wind was a menace as Jill Biden accepted flowers upon her arrival
The first lady will spend much of her time in Kenya focused on food insecurity, an issue that affects about six million Kenyans due to drought conditions in the arid nation. The Biden administration also blames the Russian invasion of Ukraine for contributing to the food shortages.
And Jill Biden sent her prayers to her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelensky and all Ukrainians on the first anniversary of the invasion.
‘I just wanted to say on the one-year anniversary of Ukraine that not a day goes by that I don’t think of President Zelensky, Olena, their family, and all the people in Ukraine and what they are going through and how hard they’re fighting to keep their freedom,’ she told reporters traveling with her on her plane.
At the bottom of the plane, upon her arrival in Kenya, two little girls in pink dresses gave Jill Biden flowers to welcome her to the country.
The wind stepped in again, sending the first lady’s dress soaring.
At the side, a troupe of dancers sang ‘Welcome to Kenya’ in Swahili and danced to the beat of wooden drums.
It is Jill Biden’s third trip to Kenya.
During her three days in the country, she will visit a drought-affected area in Kenya to highlight the food insecurity issue.
‘The Horn of Africa is experiencing historic drought, which, compounded by the impacts of climate change and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, has increased food insecurity and threatened livelihoods across the region,’ the White House noted.
According to the UN World Food Program, about one-third of Kenyans live in poverty and 29% of children in rural areas have been affected by food insecurity.
Jill Biden visited Kenya in 2011 – when she was second lady – amid the worst drought in East Africa in 60 years. During that trip, she also met with Somali refugees and held meetings on how the U.S. could help with the ongoing food and refugee crisis.
She later wrote of visiting the Kibera community in Nairobi: ‘The quality of life is nearly unimaginable — there is no electricity in the homes, and little access to running water. But it’s where I met some of the bravest women and girls that I will never forget, who are fighting to change the circumstances for their community.’
Kenya has been plagued by a dry rainy season.
Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto (2nd Left) welcomes US First Lady Jill Biden (2nd Right) upon her arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi
Jill Biden’s plane lands in Nairobi
Jill Biden watches the dance performance
President Joe Biden, speaking in Poland on Tuesday, criticized Russia for exacerbating the global food crisis.
‘Putin tried to starve the world, blocking the ports in the Black Sea to try and stop Ukraine for exporting its grain, exacerbating the global food crisis that hit developing nations in Africa especially hard,’ he said. ‘This week, my wife Jill Biden is traveling to Africa to help bring attention to this critical issue.’
Additionally on her trip, the first lady will focus on the empowerment of women – including issues relating to gender-based violence – and youth and promoting the administration’s pro-democracy message.
Kenya has experienced violence around its elections. The country also has seen its rate of violence against women increase since the COVID pandemic.
Nearly half of women in the region experience gender-based violence over the course of their lifetimes, and a third of Kenyan girls experience some form of sexual violence before turning 18, according to the Gender Violence Recovery Centre at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital.
Naomi Biden has been at the first lady’s side at every stop during her trip, thus far.
Naomi Biden is the first family’s oldest grandchild and lives in the White House. She had her wedding to Peter Neal on the South Lawn in November.
Jill Biden defended bringing granddaughter on a taxpayer funded trip to Africa, noting that other presidents and first ladies have brought family members on foreign trips.
‘It’s so great for me to be able to bring a member of the family. I think it’s a tradition, or, actually that we’ve seen other families from first families, bring members of their family to just see the rest of the world and just experience the world,’ she said during a stop in Namibia.
Michelle Obama brought daughters Sasha and Malia to Africa when she visited in June 2016. And Hillary Clinton brought daughter Chelsea when she traveled to the region.
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