PRESIDENT Joe Biden has been slammed for his excessive use of vacation days while he’s been running the United States.
Biden, 81, has been soaking up the sun after dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in July.
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President Joe Biden sit and First lady Jill Biden sit at the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on August 31, 2024Credit: AP
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Biden and Jill ride bicycles in Cape Henlopen State Park on June 3, 2021, in Lewes, DelawareCredit: AFP
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Biden walks back to his car after a day at the beach with Jill in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on July 8, 2023Credit: Reuters
His latest out-of-office session comes as he has reportedly enjoyed 532 vacation days in less than four years – about 40% of the 1,326 days he has been president, per The New York Post.
An average working American only gets about 11 days of vacation a year.
For someone to rack up the same number of vacation days as Biden, it would take them approximately 48 years, the Republican National Committee pointed out.
The RNC also noted Biden was taking his “16th straight day on vacation” alongside a video of him laying in the sun on the beach near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware — about 31 miles across the water from Cape May, New Jersey.
Biden appeared relaxed on the beach next to his wife, First Lady Jill, while he sat in a chair on the sand.
His two-week break comes after he was spotted on the same beach in early August.
Some members of former President Donald Trump’s team find his vacation days and supposed lack of work an issue.
“The image of Biden fast asleep and lying flat on his back in his chair at the beach while America and the world is on fire will define the Biden presidency,” said Mark Paoletta, general counsel of the White House budget office under Trump, per The New York Post.
“Inflation has been out of control; prices still way too high; our border overrun with millions of illegal aliens committing violent crimes on our citizens; the world in a perilous state; and all Biden wants to do is go on vacation and check out — for more than 530 days.”
LOW PROFILE
After Biden dropped out of the race, the current president has taken a step back from the public eye.
Emotional Joe Biden stumbles over words and shouts his way through swan-song DNC speech
Despite his lack of appearances, his team argues he continues to work remotely on vacation, balancing his duties and time off.
“It’s not a surprise that the same geniuses who attack President Biden for petting hero dogs and liking ice cream can’t count, but he has taken fewer vacation days than the modern average for presidents and works hard every day, wherever he is,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates, per The New York Post.
However, when compared to other presidents, Biden far surpasses his out-of-off versus in-office ratio.
Trump spent 26% of his presidency on personal trips, equaling 381 out of his 1,461 days in office, The Post reported.
10 Days that Changed America
AN attempted assassination of a former US president, the standing down of a current president, and a political speech by a former wrestler. Senior News reporter Anthony Blair looks back on a crazy 10 days in American politics.
- Saturday, July 13 – Donald Trump is shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Republican frontrunner is hit in the ear but stands up and pumps his fist to the crowd. Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, is shot dead but the Secret Service is slammed for suspected security blunders. Ex-fire chief Corey Comperatore is killed protecting his family.
- Sunday, July 14 – President Joe Biden calls on Americans to unite and “cool down” political rhetoric in the wake of Trump’s shooting. The Democrat had faced growing calls since his disastrous performance in June’s CNN debate. Shocking video reveals how close Trump came to being killed after turning his head at the last minute.
- Monday, July 15 – The Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump is formally nominated as the Republican candidate. An emotional-looking Trump makes his first appearance since surviving the shooting wearing a large ear bandage. It quickly becomes a must-have fashion item at the RNC. Ohio Senator JD Vance is named as Trump’s running mate. Previously anti-Trump, Vance at just 39 is an inexperienced choice, but seen as having a connection with ordinary Americans. In an interview, Biden admits it was a “mistake” to talk about putting Trump in “the bullseye” days before the assassination attempt.
- Tuesday, July 16 – The FBI warns of more potential violence in the wake of Trump’s shooting. Intelligence claims Iran had a separate plot to assassinate Trump, but there is no proven link to Crooks. Biden returns to the campaign trail for the first time since the assassination attempt and insists he isn’t stepping down.
- Wednesday, July 17 – Joe Biden tests positive for Covid, just days after saying he would drop out of the presidential race if he was diagnosed with a medical condition. It intensifies the calls for him to step aside with Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom floated as potential replacements. At the RNC, JD Vance makes his first speech since being selected as Trump’s VP pick, to the delight of the MAGA crowd.
- Thursday, July 18 – Donald Trump addresses the RNC, his first speech since surviving an attempted assassination. He appears slower and more subdued than usual but gives the longest convention acceptance speech in US history. Just before he goes on, former wrestler Hulk Hogan rips his shirt off and tells cheering crowds “Trumpomania” will sweep America. Former First Lady Melania, who has barely been seen on the campaign trail, makes an appearance but does not speak. Barack Obama joins calls for Biden to step aside.
- Friday, July 19 – President Biden appears to consider resigning, as a source says he is in a “contemplative stage” while isolating with Covid. Video emerges showing Biden appearing to lean into the wrong woman after mistaking her for his wife Jill. Meanwhile, the world’s biggest tech outage sparks travel chaos for Republicans leaving the RNC in Milwaukee.
- Saturday, July 20 – Donald Trump holds his first campaign rally since the shooting in Butler. He appears in Michigan without his ear bandage. His former doctor Ronny Jackson describes his injuries. He appears in his first interview alongside his running mate Vance. Senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi speaks for the first time since being linked to growing calls for Biden to resign. Meanwhile, Biden’s reelection campaign continues to insist he is running, as a spokesperson slams Trump’s rally remarks as showing he is “focused only on himself.”
- Sunday, July 21 – Joe Biden announces he isn’t running in November in a shock letter, just hours after insisting he was staying in the race. He is the first incumbent to step down in their first term since 1968. Biden endorses Kamala Harris for president as senior Dems through their support behind the Vice President. The news appears to throw the Republicans off their stride. Biden vows to continue his term until November’s election.
- Monday, July 22 – Kamala Harris raises a record $81 million in 24 hours as she secures the Democratic candidacy. She also inherits some $91 million in leftover campaign funds from Biden. Harris gives her first speech since Biden stepped out, and speaks to the president on the phone, although he doesn’t appear in person. Under-pressure Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle appears on Capitol Hill and faces increasing calls to resign over the shooting of Trump. She admits the Secret Service “failed” on July 13 and resigns the following day.
Other former commander-in-chiefs, including Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, spent 11% of their two-term presidencies vacationing.
VACATION ADDICT
Biden has been enjoying a long stay in Delaware during the last of the summers while Harris and Trump campaign for the upcoming election.
The pair are gearing up for the long-awaited presidential debate planned for September 10.
Biden, meanwhile, was pictured taking a few phone calls while his Secret Service moved people along on the beach.
One passerby even blew the president a kiss while he sat in his chair and Biden waved back in response.
On Saturday, he had lunch at Fieldstone Golf Club in Delaware with former Pennsylvania Senator Ted Kaufman.
While in Rehoboth, he was also pictured riding a bike around the waterfront, enjoying time with his family.
Representative Nicole Malliotakis for Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York said it would benefit Americans if Biden took more time off.
“We probably would have been better off if he did even less and went on vacation more,” she said, per The New York Post.
“Sadly, he repealed President Trump’s border policies, lifted sanctions on Iran that enriched them, and implemented anti-energy policies that drove up the cost of gas, food, and utility bills.
“If he just left things alone, things would be better.”
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Biden and Jill sit at the beach in chairs under a blue umbrella in Rehoboth Beach, Deleware on August 28, 2024Credit: AP
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Biden, granddaughter Naomi, and Jill sit under umbrellas at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on August 10, 2024Credit: Reuters
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Biden and Jill walk on the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on October 22, 2023Credit: AFP
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Biden and Jill enjoying the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on August 31, 2024Credit: AP
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