According to an examination of press pool reports, President Joe Biden has devoted more days to relaxation than any of his recent predecessors, despite the White House’s 24-hour grind.
After a quick journey to Florida to see Hurricane Idalia’s devastation, Biden hopes to be 10 toes up at his Rehoboth Beach summer house for Labor Day weekend.
According to data calculated by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and confirmed by The Washington Post using White House reports on Biden’s movements, as of last Sunday, Biden had spent all or part of 382 of his presidency’s 957 days, or 40%, on personal overnight trips away from the White House, putting him on track to become America’s most idle commander-in-chief.
“We have millions of illegal immigrants pouring across our borders. Violent crime is surging. Inflation is crushing hard-working Americans. Our enemies around the world are emboldened,” Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said. “Meanwhile, Joe Biden is filmed on the beach with his handlers preventing him from speaking to the media to answer basic questions Americans deserve answers to.” She added, “It’s shameful.”
According to calculations, Biden’s running relaxation ratio greatly outstrips that of the last American Idle, George H. W. Bush, who spent 36% of his administration off duty and away from Washington.
Biden’s 40% out-of-office ratio greatly exceeds that of former President Donald Trump, who spent 26% of his administration — 381 of his 1,461 days in office — on personal travels out of Washington.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELIn comparison, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama took only 11% of their two-term presidencies for vacations, while workhorse Jimmy Carter took only 79 days off, accounting for 5% of his single term in office.
The president’s “vacation” days include 100 of the 135 weekends since his inauguration that he has spent alone in one of his two Delaware homes, at Camp David in Maryland, or in the mansions of billionaire friends.
As the president’s public blunders become more regular, with 77% of Americans saying he’s too old to be re-elected and a new book alleging that he admits to feeling “tired,” some detractors blame Biden’s age.
“With President Biden, it’s not only that he’s absent in mind, he’s increasingly absent in body,” said Heritage Foundation Fellow Joel Griffith.
“I just pray for his health and family as he continues to decline,” said Cornel West, a Green Party presidential candidate.
“At a time when so many families are having to cut back their vacation time thanks to inflation,” Griffith said, “Biden’s gone on vacation almost 12 days per month, more than triple the rate that Obama was taking,”
Meanwhile, Biden’s off-day activities are nearly entirely hidden from public view.
When the president is not in the White House, the rotating press pool frequently goes entire days without seeing him — and his administration has refused to provide visitor logs detailing his extended time away from the White House.
In May, the Secret Service categorically refused The Post’s Freedom of Information Act request for emails identifying Biden’s off-day visitors, which the House Oversight Committee had also requested.
“With the amount of time this president is spending away from the White House, visitor records should be made public from all of Joe Biden’s residences,” said committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.). “Americans deserve the transparency they were promised from the Biden administration. All they are getting is obstruction.”
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“Just as a matter of respect to the American people, he should show us who’s going to be there,” Griffith said, “especially considering the track record. We know that Biden was for a time unlawfully storing documents in his garage in Delaware, and his son appears to have some very shady business dealings. I think that we’re entitled to know who else is there with him.”
As I always say, can you imagine if this were Trump?
