Republicans And The Media Get It Wrong: Obama Wasn’t Late To Meet The Pope

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:22 am

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There is a story being circulated that Pope Francis’s plane was forced to circle in a holding pattern because President Obama was running late. The truth is that the President arrived on time.

Video of Pope Francis meeting President Obama:

There is a story being circulated that Pope Francis was forced to wait for President Obama because the President was running late.

The Atlantic reported, “A source on the ground at Joint Base Andrews said several government officials told him the reason the plane started circling was that Obama and Biden are running late to the greeting ceremony. Ooops. Seems like even the bishop of Rome has to adjust his schedule around Beltway traffic.”

However, according to the official press schedule released by the White House for the day, President Obama was not scheduled to greet the Pope at the airport until 4 PM ET, “4:00PM THE PRESIDENT, THE FIRST LADY, THE VICE PRESIDENT and DR. BIDEN greet His Holiness Pope Francis.

The pool reported at the event noted, “The Alitalia plane – “Shepherd One” – carrying Pope Francis touched down at Joint Base Andrews at 3:49 p.m. He emerged at 4:05 p.m., descending the steps for a red carpet greeting from POTUS, FLOTUS and others.”

The event was scheduled for 4 PM, and President Obama was on time. The idea that the President would be late to meet Pope Francis at the airport is more Obama bashing from the media and the right.

Let’s kill this falsehood before it has a chance to get off the ground. Sorry, Republicans but those pesky facts and clocks say that President Obama was not late to greet Pope Francis.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association