Dalai Lama, Obama to Appear in Public Together for 1st Time

choi

Elizabeth Dias, Exclusive: Dalai Lama, Barack Obama Set to Appear in Public Together for First Time. Time, Jan 29, 2015
time.com/3687508/dalai-lama-prayer-breakfast/
("Tibetan leader will participate in the Feb 5 National Prayer Breakfast 全国祈祷早餐会 where the President is expected to attend. Obama has never appeared publicly with Tibetan leader * * * according to a press aide [Alex Miller] for Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey [Democrat], who is co-chair of the event. * * * The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual, historically Christian event at the Washington Hilton for hundreds of mostly evangelical and other faith leaders. The President of the United States and First Lady have long attended, and the President traditionally speaks")

Note:
(a) The key word is "public." In previous meetings between the two, the public was absent.

* Is "the public" singular or plural?
(i) m-w.com gives this example without explanation: "The general public is in favor of the law."
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public
(ii) Oxford explains:

public (n): "(the public) [TREATED AS SINGULAR OR PLURAL] ordinary people in general; the community <the public has made an informed choice>"
www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/public
(iii) Google (public plural) and the first return, which Google highlights, is

"[Q:] I wonder if the word "public" is plural or singular. Does anybody know?
[A:] The adjective "public" is neither, since English does not as a rule mark number on adjectives. The noun "public" is a mass and a collective noun. Unlike "people," it may take either plural or singular concord depending on the dialect and register and preference of the speaker. For example:
[example 1:] The public are getting restless about the austerity measures.
[example 2:] The public is getting restless about the austerity measures.
...have the same meaning and are both acceptable."
May 18, 2012
english.stackexchange.com/questions/68204/is-public-plural-or-singular

(b) National Prayer Breakfast
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Prayer_Breakfast
the first Thursday of February each year; founder  Abraham Vereide; since 1953; held since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton; Every US president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in the annual event)