President Joe Biden made his first public appearance in three days, joining his wife Jill Biden on the beach at their vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware.
The first lady’s two sisters and her senior adviser Anthony Bernal joined them on the warm, sunny day.
The group sat under two blue umbrellas, and some passersby waved at them as they walked along the beach.
It’s day 9 of the president’s two-week vacation. He often spends time on the beach when he’s in Rehoboth.
He was carrying a blue bag and was seen taking out a folder full of papers.
President Joe Biden joined first lady Jill Biden and her two sisters on the beach
Biden arrived in Rehoboth Beach on Sunday after spending a week at a 20,000-acre ranch in Santa Ynez, California.
He will remain in Rehoboth until Monday, after which he will travel to Pittsburgh with Kamala Harris for a campaign rally.
He is preparing to go back to work.
He’ll be traveling next week, traveling to Wisconsin on Thursday to discuss his administration’s efforts to lower costs for Americans.
Wisconsin is a crucial battleground state for Democrats in the 2024 election. Biden is no longer on the ballot, but can still talk about what he and Kamala Harris have done to help the country.
Democrats view Wisconsin as a must-win state.
Meanwhile, the White House is defending Biden’s two-week vacation, saying he’s the boss and running the country from his vacation spots.
“The president is on vacation, but you can never pull the plug and walk away from a job like this, and he’s not trying to,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday in a Zoom briefing with reporters.
“He’s got a firm grip on the reins,” he noted of Biden.
He pointed out that Biden spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, proving that the president is working.
Passersby wave to President Biden as he sits on the beach
President Biden takes papers out of his bag
Secret Service agents surround President Biden as he enjoys some time at the beach
The White House has long maintained that Biden can perform the duties of a president wherever he goes.
When the president is traveling, a staff member from the National Security Council travels with him to keep him informed on foreign affairs. A staff member from the office of the chief of staff also travels with him to keep him informed on domestic affairs.
According to journalist Mark Knoeller, who tracks presidential travel, Biden is on his 114th visit to Delaware, a visit that will last, in whole or in part, 328 days.
That’s a lot more than Donald Trump spent at a similar point in his term, when he spent 51 visits and 240 days at one of his estates in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, or Bedminster, New Jersey.
It’s the second week in a row that the Bidens have no election.
She flew to Santa Ynez, CaliforniaMonday night after Biden delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The couple – along with their children and grandchildren – stayed at a ranch in California owned by the Democratic billionaire Joe Kiani.
The estate is located approximately three hours north of Los Angeles, in the Santa Barbara wine region.
Kiani is a major Biden campaign donor and a family friend. Hunter Biden toured the $50 million vineyard property last year.
Nicknamed the ‘Kiani Reserve,’ the 8,000-hectare farm has its own vineyard, donkeys and a herd of cattle.
The estate’s vineyard produces bottles of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, among other wines. The president doesn’t drink, but the first lady has been known to enjoy a glass or two of wine.
Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 after his poor performance in the debate against Donald Trump, which led to concerns about his mental health.
“For the next six months, I am focused on my work as president,” Biden said in his speech from the White House on July 24.