Inside The White House With President Joe Biden

Hello architectural brief, welcome to the Oval Office, come on, this is the White House, this is what inauguration day is like. The outgoing

president

has to leave, I think at noon or 10:00 in the morning. Incoming guests cannot communicate until 4:00. so you can decide what furniture and decorations you want in the Oval Office. I asked my brother to help me set up my office here on the carpet and furniture because he is a better architect than me. What they do there is in the suburbs of Maryland. It's a facility that's a replica in terms of dimensions of the Oval Office, so you go out and pick out the furniture and rugs you want to see what they look like, and my brother knows my tastes very well.

I love this rug. I love it. the color blue, that's something I knew I wanted, the rest was chosen by my brother and he called a good friend, John Mechum, from

president

ial history for help. I've spent more time with the Chinese leader than any other head of state and he asked me, he said he, can I define America? I told him yes, I can, in a word and I mean possibilities, possibilities, we Americans think that anything is possible, we would do it together and that's why John Meum helped my brother choose those five portraits that were over there.

It's all a matter of possibilities, there is nothing we can't do, this was the Resolute desk that John Kennedy had and remember that famous photo where John John, his son, comes out from under the desk, well, he comes out through this door, here it is where he came out okay, I have a little grandson and what I decided to do when we walked in here, let me show you, and that's my grandson Bowie coming out from under the desk, it's really an amazing office, I chose the things that represent why. To begin with, I entered public life for real.

I wanted to be able to sit at my desk when I looked to see the two heroes I had, one was Dr. Martin Luther King and the other was Bobby Kennedy. Then I have a woman who refused. to move to the back of the bus, Rose and Parks. I have her bust here too and there is another person who was from that time. This is César Chavez of the Farm Workers, he was organizing the Farm Workers in the southern part of my state at the time and I supported him I never met him but I supported what he was doing it cost me in southern Delaware but I admired him very much this this is the love of my life and the life of my love this is my daughter Ashley on her wedding day and we are doing the father daughter dance this is truly amazing this is the night Barack and I were declared vice president and president from the United States my mom, who admired Barack a lot, she wasn't even supposed to come out on stage and they said and now the next president and vice president of the United States, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, my mother holds Barack's hand and look at her face, she says, come on, baby, everything will be okay.

She accompanied him to the stage she never stopped being everyone's mom I have this rugby ball here this is the Irish rugby team I have two cousins ​​who were stars on that team and they gave me this ball and then every time they swore at me in any public office I have used this Bible, it is just an incredible keepsake that has existed in the family for a long time, by the way, the reason Ben Franklin I had to put it in because my children went to the pen and I was a teacher. at the University of Pennsylvania, this Moon Rock is cool, it's literally Moon Rock, this is my '67 Corvette, my dad didn't have a lot of money, but he ran the dealership, so when I got married he gave it to me.

I still have it when I was elected president. Scranton decided to take Interstate 81 and the exit to Scranton used to be called Scranton Central Highway. They changed the name to the President Biden Highway. You know, there are a lot of other things here that are important to me. and I think about all the amazing things that have happened in this office over the last few hundred years and it really is an incredible honor to be here, let me show you here, people don't get to come back here very often. I think these are excellent sketches by Frederick Douglas.

I have them hanging on the wall here. There's a private office back here. This is where I come when I want to get away for a bit to work on a speech. There is a large portrait of President Kennedy there. The sweets didn't like it because it made them look too contemplative. I think it's a great portrait of them and on the wall here a lot of kids send me these cartoons and I put them up on the wall and then I take pictures of them. them and send them to families who enjoy children. I think they're very nice and this is the

house

that I grew up in in Scranton Pennsylvania on North Washington Avenue which, by the way, the last three blocks at the end of North Washington Avenue, as they call Biden, has now been renamed.

This is a private dining room. Not many people can come back here. Brock and I used to have lunch those eight years once a week in this room here, but I have a lot. from personal family photographs back here this is a photo of my son Bo who passed away, it's my mom and dad and when he had darker hair and here are what they call command coins. Command coins are given on the battlefield and the president has a Command coin and My Command coin has on the back the Bose unit that we sat on a shelf for a year so I'll give you a copy if you want if, of fact, next time I see you no You don't have it, you have to buy the drinks, but you're in luck.

I'm the only Irishman who's never met and never drank in his life. Did you want to see the cabinet room? I want to show you, come here. It's the cabinet room, come in, there's only one chair here that's about 2 inches taller than any other chair, that's the chair, press this chair, these chairs are heavy on the back of each chair, that's the name of the department. that they represent, this is the Secretary. of Energy here in this chair, but a lot of really incredible things have happened in this room, for me it is almost like a Cathedral because when we are here we talk about things of enormous consequences, by the way, there is a tradition in my office these cookies with sprinkles chocolate they are all homemade thank you thank you for going through the architectural summary by the way I am a subscriber I am a frustrated architect thank you very much I appreciate it