President Obama had time to meet with Ahmed Mohamed after all.
Obama greeted Mohamed, 14, on Monday during the White House’s Astronomy Night on the South Lawn. The president personally invited the Texas teenager to the event after he was arrested last month for bringing a homemade clock to school.
{mosads}Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest downplayed the possibility of Obama meeting Mohamed.
Despite the meeting, the Texas ninth grader was not the focal point of the event, which is intended to spur students’ interest in math and science.
Obama delivered brief remarks to the crowd of about 300 people with Mohamed sitting in the third row. The president did not make any specific reference to Mohamed in his remarks, in which he touted the scientific accomplishments of other students in the crowd.
Mohamed’s story garnered national attention in September after his family alleged the ninth-grader was the subject of anti-Muslim bias when teachers mistook his clock for a bomb. Officials in Mohammed’s hometown of Irving, Texas, denied those claims.
After the story went viral on social media, Obama tweeted an invitation for Ahmed to visit the White House to meet with NASA scientists and astronauts and bring the clock with him.
“Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great,” the president tweeted.
Mohamed reportedly did not bring the clock to the event, telling the Dallas Morning News he has been too busy traveling to pick it up from home.