Actor Mark Hamill visited the White House, where he gushed over White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and President “Joebi-Wan Kenobi.”
“I called him ‘Mr. President.’ He said, ‘You can call me Joe.’ And I said, ‘Can I call you Joebi-Wan Kenobi?’ He liked that,” the Star Wars actor told reporters at the podium during a Friday White House press briefing while Jean-Pierre grinned behind him.
ABC's @SelinaWangTV: “Thank you, Mark Hamill, for being here. What did you ask? What did you talk about with the President?”
HAMILL: “Well, first of all, I only expected to be there for, like, five minutes. He showed us all these photographs and you know, it — it was — it was… pic.twitter.com/lLi9vTDj5j
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 3, 2024
Hamill was responding to CBS journalist Weijia Jiang, who asked the actor, “Did President Biden bring up Star Wars to you?”
Elsewhere during his White House appearance, Hamill bizarrely referred to President Joe Biden as “the most legislatively successful president in my lifetime.”
“I was really thrilled to meet the entire staff, because, you know, it’s not just one person. It’s like a composite endeavor,” the Bonkers actor added.
.@MarkHamill at the White House press briefing:
“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 of bipartisan infrastructure law, the PACT… pic.twitter.com/6BuWLHEJ9g
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 3, 2024
Hamill also gushed over Jean-Pierre and then gave her a hug.
“But, listen, I’m not really here to dominate. I have to turn it back over to our wonderful Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre. So, thank you all so much,” the Wing Commander Academy actor said, before hugging the White House Press Secretary.
“Thank you,” Jean-Pierre said, to which Hamill replied, “All right, thank you.”
“Thank you,” the White House Press Secretary repeated, to which Hamill replied, “Okay” then walked away.
Jean-Pierre then took he place back at the podium and gushed over the actor’s sunglasses, saying, “Thank you so much for being here. I gotta get those shades. Thank you, guys. Thank you,” eliciting cheers and clapping from the reporters in the room.
“No one ever claps for me when I get off the podium, just saying,” Jean-Pierre laughed. “I know — expect the unexpected. I don’t even know where to go from there, but I do have — now I feel very by myself.”