President Barack Obama met for lunch with Hillary Clinton on Monday, the latest in a series of behind-closed-doors sessions between the commander-in-chief and the top Democrat vying to replace him.
“When their schedules permit, President Obama and Secretary Clinton enjoy the opportunity to catch-up in person,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. “This afternoon they met privately for an informal lunch here at the White House for about an hour and a half.”
The meeting came only hours after Obama delivered a major address on ISIS from the Oval Office, though the White House declined to say whether the President discussed his anti-terror strategy with his former secretary of state.
“They discussed a wide array of topics, but this was mostly a social occasion,” Earnest said.
Obama last encountered Clinton in August, when they both attended the 80th birthday party for Vernon Jordan, the former top aide to President Bill Clinton, on Martha’s Vineyard. Obama played a round of golf with the former president as well.
They met for lunch previously at the White House in March, when Earnest offered a similar statement explaining the two politicians “enjoy catching up in person when their schedules permit.”
But other details are hard to come by: Clinton typically arrives out of journalists’ sights, and no photos are taken during the private sessions.
Even a menu is hard to come by, though a lunch meeting in 2013 — the year after Clinton left her post as the nation’s top diplomat — is known to have featured grilled chicken, pasta jambalaya and salad.