The last Jedi turned up at the White House to visit President Joe Biden and then surprise the White House press corps at Friday’s daily briefing.
An excited White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre introduced her special guest Mark Hamill, who starred as Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars” films over a 40-year-plus time span.
Hamill, now 72, didn’t bring along his light saber to fend off Fox News’ Peter Doocy and others on the Dark Side. But he did sport a pair of aviator sunglasses that Biden had given him during their Oval Office meeting.
Hamill began by joking: “How many of you had “Mark Hamill will lead the press briefing” on your bingo card? Hands? (Laughter.) Yeah, me neither. I just got to meet the president and he gave me these aviator glasses I love the merch..”
And then Hamill delivered a brief message touting Biden’s achievements, using his star power to get across a message that too many in the White House press corps seem to overlook these days.
The briefing room was filled with the same people Biden addressed at last Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner
That’s when Biden asked the press corps “to rise up to the seriousness of the moment; move past the horserace numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics; and focus on what’s actually at stake. … Everyone single one of us has … a serious role to play in making sure democracy endures — American democracy. “
Hamill has played that role in his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he has more than 5 million followers. He’s been a staunch defender of democracy in both the U.S. and Ukraine.
At the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, Hamill agreed to serve as ambassador for the Army of Drones fundraising program to “help Ukraine stand up in this war with the evil empire." He’s also lent his baritone Luke Skywalker voice to “Air Alert” — a downloadable app linked to Ukraine’s air defense system to warn people of impending Russian attacks and urge them to proceed to the nearest shelter.
And so, Hamill brought a touch of star power and levity as he briefly reminded the White House press corps about Biden’s accomplishments.
He said:
“But listen, I just wanted to say I was honored to be asked to come to the White House to meet the President — the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime. And, you know, I don’t have to go through the list — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the PACT Act, the CHIPS Act, all of that — Inflation. Fifteen million jobs. Look, it’s all good.”
And Hamill added this about Biden: “I want to say once again how grateful I am. And it just shows you that one person can be so influential and so positive in our lives.”
Hamill then kidded with reporters that he’d take some questions as long as they weren’t about “Star Wars.”
In response to one question, Hamill said he had been to the White House before during the Carter and the Obama administrations but those occasions were large gatherings. This was the first time he had ever been in the Oval Office and the meeting lasted more than the five minutes he expected. He said it was “really amazing” because Biden showed him “all these photographs.”
And then Hamill was asked whether Biden brought up “Star Wars.”
He replied: “Well, you know, I called him `Mr. President.’ He said, `You can call me ‘Joe.’ And I said, `Can I call you ‘Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi’?’ He liked that.”
And who can forget what Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) told the young Skywalker in the first “Star Wars” film “A New Hope” (1977) after he took him under his wing to train him as a Jedi warrior. Upon arriving at the spaceport of Mos Eisley, Obi-Wan said: “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”
Good advice today if you run across any MAGA cultists in Washington.
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After Hamill left the stage, Jean-Pierre still had to deal with some “Star Wars” references after delivering her opening remarks talking about World Press Freedom Day and other more serious matters.
There was this exchange:
Q May the Force be with you. (Laughter.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: May the Force be with you, or, tomorrow, the 4th be with you — however you want to look at it. (Laughs.)
She was referring to today which is unofficially celebrated as Star Wars Day as in “May the Forth be with you.”
And later CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang embarrassed herself when she asked: “What was Mark Hamill doing here today?”
Jean-Pierre replied: “Did you not like having him here? … They had a meeting about what the President has been able to do on behalf of the American people. Mark Hamill was in town. They met. I think it was important. … You all know Mark Hamill. He is someone who is very much invested in our country, very much invested in the direction of this country.”
And then Jean-Pierre asked her whether she liked the “Star Wars” films and the CBS correspondent admitted that she had not seen them. And added: “I will now.”
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There was another film star who showed his support for Biden this week. Robert De Niro, who played the young Don Vito Corleone in “The Godfather Part II” (1974) pulled no punches in talking about Don Snoreleone in an interview with MSNBC ‘s Stephanie Ruhle that aired Thursday night.
De Niro, a frequent caustic critic of Trump, compared our want-to-be dictator with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini who were not taken seriously and looked like clowns before they seized power.
“I don’t understand it. I don’t think they understand how dangerous it will be if he (Trump) ever, God forbid, becomes president. … It would be chaos beyond our imagination. There’s no mystery about him. He’s right out front.”
And De Niro, who played mobster Al Capone in “The Untouchables” (1987), said he would never portray Trump in a film because there’s “not one redeeming thing in him that I can see, ever, ever.”
”The guy’s a monster. He is beyond wrong. It’s almost like he wants to do the most horrible things that he can think of in order to get a rise out of us. ... and it’s fu-king scary.”
De Niro declared his support for Biden, calling him “the right guy.” He added: “We don’t have a choice, and I say that in a very good way,” He urged Biden to “keep up the fight” and “go at him (Trump) hard.”
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And let’s give the last word to Hamill. He counted off the days to Star Wars Day with these posts on X supporting Biden:
— “May The First Not Quench Your Thirst For Biden’s Re-election!”
— “May The Second Biden Administration Be As Productive and Successful As The 1st.”
— “May The Third Be Absurd That The Guy Who Tried To Steal A Fair Election Is Allowed To Run Again.”
And finally this one today: “May The Fourth Be The Day A Make-Believe Defender Of The Galaxy Met A Real-Life Defender Of Democracy.”