A beaming Joe Biden told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about his night out with his granddaughters as he arrived for the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid on Thursday.
Biden was joined by Maisy, 21, and Finnegan Biden, 22, for dinner the night before at the Prado Museum where they met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife Begona Gomez.
The leaders swapped notes on their evenings and sounded as if they had chafed at security restrictions on their time in Spanish capital.
As Biden sat down at the NATO summit, Johnson asked: ‘How was your evening?’
‘Good,’ Biden could he heard saying on a TV feed of the meeting. ‘Great time with my granddaughters.’
Johnson followed up: ‘Get out of the town or what did you do?’
‘No… we went to the museum,’ said Biden above the hubbub of leaders greeting each other.
Afterwards Biden suggested he wanted to show his granddaughters more of Madrid.
‘Then we went back to … I wanted to take them out,’ he said.
‘I tried that,’ said Johnson. ‘It was a disaster.’
Instead, Biden said they went back to the hotel and went to bed.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Joe Biden swapped notes on their nights out in Madrid as they sat down at the start of day two of the NATO summit. Biden said he enjoyed a ‘great night’ with his granddaughters
The pair chit chatted about the Prado Museum and their apparently thwarted attempts to explore more of Madrid
President Joe Biden brought granddaughters Finnegan (left) and Maisy (in white holding his hand) to a formal NATO dinner at the Prado Museum where he introduced them to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (right) and his wife Begona Gomez
President Biden was in a jovial mood, putting his arm around Spanish first lady Begona Gomez
Maisy and Finnegan were filling in for first lady Jill Biden, who returned to Washington D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. They are the daughters of Hunter Biden and his first wife Kathleen.
In the evening, after a day of NATO meetings, Biden looked to be in a relaxed mood as he arrived at the world famous Prado. He put his arm around Begona Gomez, a stunning brunette wearing a one shoulder red dress. Biden held her hand and stayed close while he introduced his granddaughters. Gomez smiled and laughed with the president as the two chatted.
Maisy, who wore a white suit jacket and skirt, stayed close to President Biden, who the grandkids refer to as PopPop, holding his hand when he introduced her to the Spanish president.
Finnegan, in a blue dress with a floral pattern, held President Biden’s hand as they walked through the large art gallery, stopping to view masterpieces like Velázquez’s Las Meninas (The Ladies-in-waiting).
Ahead of the dinner, the Bidens joined other NATO leaders and their spouses in listening to an orchestral performance.
Biden then introduced the girls to EU President Ursula von der Leyen, who Biden slung an arm around while he made small talk.
And he introduced them to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who earlier in the day he has praised as ‘doing a great job.’ Biden also hugged Chef Jose Andres, who was in attendance at the dinner.
Begona Gomez smiled and laughed with the president as the two chatted
Maisy and Finnegan Biden (left to right) with President Biden; earlier in the week they had been accompanying first lady Jill Biden, who returned to Washington D.C. ahead of Wednesday night’s dinner
President Joe Biden shows his cell to Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela and his wife Lydia. French first lady Brigitte Macron is in blue
Maisy and Finnegan with President Biden as he talks with Malta’s first lady
The trio laughed as they looked at cell phone screens ahead of the dinner in Madrid after a day of diplomacy
Family photo at Wednesday night’s NATO dinner – it was taken in the Prado Museum by Velázquez’s Las Meninas (The Ladies-in-waiting)
Maisy and Finnegan met Andres earlier in the week, when they accompanied Jill Biden and Spanish Queen Letizia to a refugee center for Ukrainians. Andres’ group, World Central Kitchen, is feeding the volunteers.
The two Biden granddaughters were accompanying Jill Biden early on this week. Maisy flew to Spain with her and Finnegan, who was already in the country, and met them on the ground when the first lady arrived Sunday evening.
The Biden women enjoyed a bit of a girls’ trip. They enjoyed a glass of wine on Sunday, the night of their arrival, and then went shopping on Monday.
On Tuesday they met Spanish Queen Letizia, who gave them hugs. They joined Jill and Letizia on their tour of the refugee center.
The girls spent Wednesday morning with Jill Biden at her last event – an outing for NATO spouses in historic Segovia, Spain.
Segovia is northwest of Madrid, where this week’s NATO summit is taking place, in central Spain’s Castile and León region.
The ancient medieval town is famous for its medieval walls, Romanesque churches, Roman aqueduct and its medieval castle, which served as one of the templates for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle.
The city center was declared of World Heritage by UNESCO in 1985.
The group toured the gardens of Royal Palace of la Granja de San Ildefonso. The gardens have a number of fountains with themes from mythology: The Fountain of Apollo, The Fountain of Neptune, and The Fountain of Andromeda.
They also toured the Royal Glass Factory and the Royal Tapestry Factory.
Jill Biden, wearing a floral Oscar de al Renta dress and carrying a Squeeze De Citron’s Leche Lemon Drop Citron™ Bag ($78), paused to admire the beautiful woven wall hangings.
The spouses had lunch at the NuBel restaurant, which is known for its tapas and shrimp ceviche.
They also visited the Reina Sofía Museum, home to Picasso’s Guernica, which is considered one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history.
Maisy Biden and Finnegan Biden (the two girls on the left) joined Jill Biden and Queen Letizia (center) during a spouses program tied to this week’s NATO summit
Jill Biden, with Maisy Biden in the green dress behind her, tours a glass factory with Spanish First Lady Begona Gomez
The spouses walk with Queen Letizia in Segovia, an ancient town near Madrid; Maisy and Finnegan can be seen in the back right corner, walking behind the spouses – Maisy wears a green dress and Finnegan has a black jacket over a white dress
Spanish Queen Letizia (L) greets Finnegan and Maisy Biden (2-R), granddaughters of First Lady Jill Biden (R) prior their visit to a reception center for Ukrainian refugees on Tuesday
Biden’s granddaughters – Finnegan (left) and Maisy (right) were introduced to Spanish royalty – getting hugs from Queen Letizia; Finnegan and Maisy are the daughters of Hunter Biden and his first wife Kathleen
Jill Biden took granddaughters Finnegan and Maisy out shopping in Madrid on Monday
Finnegan Biden (left) and Maisy Biden (right) with their shopping bags
Jill, Maisy and Finnegan beat the president to the NATO summit by a couple of days. He arrived Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, Jill Biden was welcomed to the Palacio de la Zarzuela by Queen Letizia, before the pair went on a tour of the headquarters of the Spanish Association Against Cancer.
The first lady is a staunch advocate for research into a cancer cure, after she lost her adult son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015. Several of her girlfriends also succumbed to breast cancer.
‘I brought my two granddaughters,’ the first lady told Letizia as they chatted at the palace on Monday. ‘We stayed up and, you know, had a glass of wine.’
Maisy and Finnegan did not join Jill Biden at the palace as they were at the U.S. Embassy visiting with Ambassador Julissa Reynoso. Reynoso is Jill Biden’s former chief of staff.
They joined her shopping in Madrid on Monday afternoon.
