Former US president Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time in five years and began speaking by addressing Joe Biden as Vice President.

Notably, the current president of the United States was Obama’s second-in-command. Obama clarified, “That was a joke”, with the president and vice president at his side. 

Giving Biden a hug, Obama said, “That was all set up. My president, Joe Biden. Vice President Harris“. Obama returned to the White House for an event related to the 12th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.

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Signed by Obama, it is now a fabric of the American healthcare system and President Biden wishes to extend its reach. At the time the law was passed in 2010, Biden had called it a “big (expletive) deal”. Apart from discussing this law, Biden and Obama are expected to have lunch. White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, commented that the two are not just Washington friends, but friends in real life as well.

They are expected to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine as well. The US is planning to announce a new set of sanctions on Russia, which now faces harsher global condemnation after mass graves of civilians surfaced in Bucha, a town near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

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When in office, Obama referred to his healthcare law as a “starter home” for Americans to build upon, to reduce the 9% share of the population that is uninsured. When Biden took over, he opened health insurance markets to those seeking medical coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden’s coronavirus relief bill provided a temporary, but significant, increase in financial help too. When Obama’s law was initially introduced, Democrats were not too keen on invoking it, but are now hoping that the political equation will favour them, as the country goes to poll this November.