Actor Mark Hamill takes off sunglasses given to him by President Joe Biden, as he joins White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on May 3, 2024.WASHINGTON —"Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill has dropped by the White House on Friday for a visit with President Joe Biden and walked away with a pair of the president's aviator sunglasses and a greater respect for the office.
“I love the merch," he said, taking off the glasses during a quick appearance at the White House daily press briefing following his visit with Biden. Hamill, 72, famous for playing Luke Skywalker, kidded with reporters that he'd take a few questions — as long as they weren't about “He's been to the White House before, during the Carter and Obama administrations, but he'd never checked out the Oval Office, and that was quite something, he said.
Hamill said Biden told him to call him “Joe,” to which Hamill offered an alternative suggestion: “Can I call you Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi?”Both Hamill and the White House were vague about his reason for visiting. But Hamill, a Democrat and Biden supporter with a huge social media following, has been posting about the president's reelection campaign this week.