First lady Dr. Jill Biden received the White House Christmas tree Monday afternoon, saying the nearly 19-foot white fir was “beautiful.”
“I love the tree,” Biden said of the 20-year-old fir, which came via Evergreen Acres Tree Farm in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, owned by Paul and Pam Shealer, who were awarded the honor of the National Christmas Tree Association’s 2022 Grand Champion Grower (a title they also won in 2000, when they presented the tree to former first lady Hillary Clinton).
Dr. Biden posed with the Shealer family, along with her 2-year-old grandson, Beau, for photos in front of the tree.
“I think it will fill the room,” Paul Shealer told Dr. Biden, to which she replied, “It will fill our hearts, for sure.”
The tree was delivered to the White House by a pair of Clydesdale horses named Ben and Winston as Dr. Biden looked on. It will next move to the Blue Room in the White House Residence, where it will be decorated for the holiday season.
The first lady welcomed the tree alongside fellow National Guard and Army mom Kelly Hokanson, the spouse of the National Guard Bureau chief, and her daughter.
After they accepted the tree, Dr. Biden brought Beau — who was also on hand at last year’s tree arrival and was named for the Bidens’ late son — to pet the horses.
The annual Christmas tree presentation has been ongoing for 57 years and sees the winner of the National Christmas Tree Contest earning the honor of revealing the beauty to the first lady.
