The high school freshman who was arrested after he brought a homemade clock into his Texas school got to meet President Obama Monday night.
Ahmed Mohamed joined a gaggle of scholars, academics, scientists, astronauts and celebrities - together with the “Myth Busters” and Bill Nye - for White House Astronomy Night yesterday.
Ahmed brought the clock to school to show to his engineering teacher, who advised him not to show it to anyone else; another teacher notified authorities when the device started beeping inside Ahmed’s backpack.
Police ultimately chose not to charge Ahmed with having a hoax bomb, though he was suspended. “Cool clock, Ahmed”, Mr. Obama said on Twitter, adding: “We should inspire more kids like you to like science”.
The 14-year-old also toured the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s labs before heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as reported by the Associated Press. He will have a live report from the White House Monday on NBC 5 News at 10 p.m. “Always judge them by their heart”.
The White House rejected assumptions from Ted Cruz and other presidential hopefuls that the President praises more the Muslim boy than the men and women in the law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day for the sake of their communities.
Last Wednesday, Ahmed met with Sudanese president and war criminal Omar al-Bashir, causing a few to speculate that the president might want to distance himself from a boy who is friendly with a genocidal maniac.
Advisers deflected a question on that topic and instructed Ahmed to not answer.
Earnest said several hundred people will attend the astronomy event, so he doubted there would be any one-on-one meeting between the president and Ahmed. 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.
The president also reminded listeners of NASA’s next goal: humans on the red planet by the 2030s. “Some of you might be on your way to Mars”, he told young people. Instead, he’s one of the guests at the White House Astronomy Night.
