President Joe Biden and members of the first family went swimming for Thanksgiving in the frigid waters off Nantucket on Thursday.
“Annual Biden Family Polar Bear Dive.” Happy Thanksgiving!” Naomi Biden, the president’s granddaughter, wrote in a job on the social media platform
Naomi Biden included a photo showing some of the clan, including the president, days before his 81st birthday, wrapped in towels and standing on a rocky beach after their swim in the ocean.
The water temperature in Nantucket Sound was 48 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday afternoon.
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During President Biden’s time as vice president, the family frequently attended the Nantucket annual meeting. Cold turkey dipa charity event in which participants run through freezing salt water and rush back to shore.
Joe Biden has spent almost every Thanksgiving on the island since 1975. This year, it appears the president has chosen to use billionaire David Rubenstein’s waters. 13 acre beachfront estate for its traditional bathing.
The president and his extended family are spending six days at the hedge fund billionaire’s mansion – the same compound where they vacationed in 2021 and 2022.
The White House has not said if the president pays to lease the $38.9 million property from Rubenstein.
Before the afternoon swim, President and First Lady Jill Biden delivered several pumpkin pies to Nantucket firefighters and spoke with first responders.
The president responded to journalists’ shouted questions about the hostage situation in Gaza and American citizens imprisoned in Russia.
“I’m not ready to take stock until it’s done,” he said of the revolutionary agreement between Hamas and Israel This could see 50 hostages held by the terrorist group released early on Friday.
Asked if Abigail Mor Edan, a 3-year-old Israeli-American girl held captive in the Palestinian territory, would be among those freed, the commander in chief replied, “Fingers crossed.”
He was asked if he had a message for Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal reporter and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Joe responded, “We won’t give up. »
Gershkovich has been detained on espionage charges in Russia since March, and Whelan was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a Russian penal colony in 2020 after his 2018 arrest on espionage allegations.
The U.S. government joined Gershkovich and Whelan in denying the accusations.
A version of this report appeared on NYPost.com.
Extract from the archives (July 2023): Biden says he’s serious about prisoner swap for Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich
