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Jill Biden's press secretary walks back comment on inviting Iowa to White House after national championship loss

Jack Baer
Staff writer
·3 min read
1.2k

It took less than 24 hours for Jill Biden's press secretary to walk back the First Lady's comments about inviting the Iowa women's basketball team to the White House following the Hawkeyes' loss in the national championship game.

Biden, who was in attendance for the game Sunday, said Monday during an event in Denver she wanted to tell President Joe Biden to invite both Iowa and champions LSU because of the quality of the game:

“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do," Jill Biden said. "So, we hope LSU will come. But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too because they played such a good game.”

Suffice to say, a lot of people weren't fans of the idea, so Biden's press secretary Vanessa Valdivia tweeted early Tuesday morning that the First Lady only intended to praise all the participants in the game and looks forward to welcoming LSU, and seemingly only LSU, to the White House.

Between the comments and clarification came a tidal wave of criticism and continued discourse about the most-watched women's college basketball game ever.

The idea of inviting the national championship losers to the White House, even when they have a crossover star like Caitlin Clark, made for perfect talk radio fodder, and eventually received comment from the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, Angel Reese.

Reese went on to endorse a suggestion that LSU visit the house of former First Lady Michelle Obama:

That could make for some awkward interactions when LSU visits Washington D.C.

Clark didn't seem to be a fan of the idea either during an interview with ESPN later Tuesday as she was accepting the Wooden Award:

"I don't think runner-ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should you know enjoy that moment for them and congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there. Maybe I could go to the White House on different terms, but I think that's for LSU."

US First Lady Jill Biden
Jill Biden wanted to praise Iowa after its loss to LSU in the national championship game. It wasn't received well. (Evelyn Hockenstein/AFP/Getty Images)

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder had a similar view.

Biden probably would not have been aware of what she was walking into when she tried to praise Iowa, as few college basketball games have seen such intense discussion for reasons beyond basketball.

Much of the post-national championship game chatter was absorbed by Reese, who had 15 points in the game, taunting Clark in the final minutes by pointing to her ring finger and mimicking Clark's past "You can't see me" gesture in her face (Clark did the same while walking by Louisville amid a 41-point triple-double in the Elite Eight).

Reese was asked about her behavior multiple times after the game and refused to apologize, claiming Clark had previously "disrespected" teammate Alexis Morris and the South Carolina team, whose undefeated run Clark ended in the Final Four.

So you can probably imagine how Reese would have felt having to share a podium with Clark at the White House, though it's not like Iowa ever seemed interested in such a visit either.