‘I’m No Vacationing President’ Insists Biden as He Defends Spending Nearly Half His Time At the Beach and Elsewhere

William FurneyOct 25, 2023

Minute Read

Donald Trump famously refers to the president of the United States as “Sleepy Joe” — and he might now have additional cause to use the denigrating moniker after it was reported that the commander-in-chief spends nearly half of his time away from the White House.

‘Homeless Biden’

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President Biden said during a visit to the Atlantic Coast town of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, last weekend that he was not actually on vacation — just that he had nowhere in particular to go, apart from his beach house.

“I have no home to go to,” the president said after approaching a group of reporters.

At Mass

The president, a devout Catholic, had been attending Sunday mass in Rehoboth Beach and said that while he had two homes in the state, he was currently unable to stay at his primary residence, in Wilmington city. That property, he explained to the media, was being renovated to make it more secure.

Only Option

President Biden insisted that just because he was in a beach vacation town, it didn’t mean he was taking a break from presidential duties

“So I have no place to go when I come to Delaware, except here, right now. I’m only here for one day,” he said.

‘Not Homeless’

Asked by reporters if he was homeless because his main house was being upgraded by the Secret Service, President Biden said: “No, I’m not homeless. I just have one home. I have a beautiful home. I’m down here for the day because I can’t go home.”

Time Away from White House

President Biden’s weekend jaunt to his beach house comes after he and first lady Jill spent a week on vacation at the Lake Tahoe area of Nevada, and amid criticism that he has spent 40 percent of his time away from the Oval Office.

Gone for a Year

The president has so far spent over a year in total — 382 days — staying at his Delaware homes and on vacation elsewhere, including the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, from just over 2.6 years as commander in chief, figures show.

Obama and Trump

President Biden’s many days away are in stark contrast to his former boss, former president Barack Obama, who was gone from the White House for 11 percent of his time in office, and ex-president Donald Trump, who was out of the Oval Office for 26 percent of his term.

‘Very Lucky’

The Bidens’ Rehoboth Beach property features six bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms, according to a report on local news site Delmarva Now. President Biden said in a statement reported by Fox News in 2017 that the waterfront home was a dream come true.

“Throughout our careers, Jill and I have dreamed of being able to buy a place at the beach at home where we can bring the whole family. We feel very lucky that we’re now able to make that happen and are looking forward to spending time with our family,” he said.

Trump Jibe

Trump ripped into President Biden in August for spending time by the sea when he should have been in the Oval Office.

“I think Biden looks horrible at the beach,” he said on Fox News. “Plus the beach doesn’t represent what a president’s supposed to be doing. You’re supposed to be working.”

Biden ‘No Athlete’

Trump continued his rant against Biden on Fox News, saying: “I think [Biden’s] worse mentally than he is physically. “And physically, he’s not exactly a triathlete or any kind of an athlete.”

‘Caught in the Grass’

Editorial credit: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.

Trump suggested Biden was having difficulty traversing the carefully manicured lawns at the White House to reach the presidential helicopter.

“He can’t walk to [Marine One]. He can’t lift his feet out of the grass. You know, it’s only two inches at the White House. That’s not a lot. But you watch him, and it looks like he’s walking on toothpicks.”

‘Weak Biden’

Editorial credit: YASAMIN JAFARI TEHRANI / Shutterstock.

Trump also said on Fox News that President Biden was so feeble he had difficulty lifting a beach chair.

“And then you see him at the beach where he can’t lift a chair. You know those chairs are meant to be light, right? They’re like two ounces.”

Real World Problems

Trump said that instead of Biden’s constant vacationing, the president should be focused on pressing issues like the war in Ukraine.

“[He’s] supposed to be getting us out of that horrible, horrible war that we’re very much involved in with Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

2024 Presidential Campaign

Both President Biden and Trump are campaigning for their respective Democratic and Republican party nominations for the 2024 presidential election. Both men are far ahead of other contenders in their parties, according to polling, and are about even if they were selected as candidates.