President Biden announced that he became a great-grandfather on Wednesday following a briefing on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
“The good news is that as of today I am a great-grandfather,” Biden said at a Santa Monica fire station.
The president and first lady Jill Biden had already scheduled a trip to Los Angeles to announce the dedication of two national monuments in California and to await the birth of the baby. The Bidens' granddaughter, Naomi, was scheduled to have a C-section on Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Biden told the audience at the firehouse that he had been at the hospital earlier in the morning and that Naomi had given birth to a 10-pound, 4-ounce “girl” before correcting herself and saying “boy.” Later Wednesday, Jill Biden posted a photo on Instagram of her and the president with her great-grandson, William Brannon Neal IV.
Naomi Biden, daughter of Biden's son Hunter, married Peter Neal in a White House ceremony in November 2022.
The president's announcement seemed to land awkwardly in the room. Biden had just received updates on the status of the fires from the region's top public safety officials, which remain some of the most destructive in Los Angeles in recent memory. Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and a half-dozen other state and local elected officials were also present at the briefing.
Biden had just described how Hunter and his wife received notification Tuesday that their Malibu home had likely caught fire, but that it was not yet clear if that was the case. Then it was on to the birth announcement. Biden received polite applause from the crowd.
“I will remember this day for many reasons,” Biden said.
Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
