Lame duck Biden escapes the White House for Thanksgiving break in mega-rich Nantucket

President Joe Biden and members of his family left for Nantucket on Tuesday to spend the Thanksgiving holiday on the small island off the coast of Massachusetts.

Biden and his extended family will stay through the holiday weekend. They are scheduled to leave on Saturday. President Biden leaves for Angola on Sunday for a trip to sub-Saharan Africa.

The Biden family has been going to the island for years, dating back to 1975. They spend the time Christmas shopping, watching the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree and celebrating the president’s birthday the week before the holidays.

Members of the clan are regularly seen in the historic city center, enjoying lunch at a local pub and visiting the shops.

Biden and his extended family will stay through the holiday weekend. They are scheduled to leave on Saturday. President Biden leaves for Angola on Sunday for a trip to sub-Saharan Africa.

The island is preparing for the arrival of the president. Last week, a cargo plane landed with the necessary equipment to transport and guard the president.

Coast Guard boats circle the waters surrounding the island.

The number of staff, security and reporters who follow the president wherever he goes runs into the hundreds. Local hotels are booked and restaurants are preparing for the influx of people.

Bill Puder, the owner of Faregrounds Restaurant and Pudley’s Pub, is preparing 200 Thanksgiving meals for the Secret Service on Thursday.

Biden, 82, was joined by first lady Jill Biden as they boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews for the festivities

Traditionally, the Bidens stay at the luxurious $34 million complex owned by billionaire businessman turned philanthropist David Rubenstein.

Last year, the family took advantage of the 13-acre private beach to take part in a cold dip in Nantucket Harbor and play “Titanic” on the dock.

FFirst daughter Ashley Biden performed a photo shoot on Thanksgiving Day 2023 when her nieces Finnegan and Maisy struck the famous Jack-and-Rose pose on the dock jutting out into Nantucket Harbor.

Baby Beau, Hunter Biden’s youngest son, played on the beach surrounded by his sisters and cousins, Natalie and Hunter, the children of the late Beau Biden.

The president’s family kicked off last year’s holiday by participating in the Nantucket Turkey Plunge, a tradition on the island raising money for the children’s library.

The Biden family participated virtually, jumping into the water at their borrowed estate instead of making a public appearance at Children’s Beach, where the annual gathering takes place.

Granddaughter Naomi Biden posted a photo on X of the Bidens standing on the beach, wrapped in beach towels.

Traditionally, the Bidens stay at the luxurious $34 million complex owned by billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein

The $34 million, 13-acre property where the Bidens are spending Thanksgiving

Ashley Biden (right) takes a photo of her nieces Finnegan and Maisy doing the ‘Titanic’ pose on the private dock of the $34 million complex during Thanksgiving last year

Baby Beau (center) leans over to look at seashells while his sisters pose for a photo and little Hunter and Peter Neal (right) walk on the beach

FROZEN JOE: Naomi Biden posted a photo of the Biden family participating in a Nantucket tradition: the Cold Turkey Plunge on Thanksgiving morning. From left to right Peter Neal, Little Hunter, Baby Beau, Hunter Biden, President Biden, Maisy Biden, Naomi Biden, Ashley Biden, Finnegan Biden and Natalie Biden

The Bidens have been going to Nantucket for 49 years, dating back to when Biden was a U.S. senator.

In his 2017 memoir “Promise me Dad,” Biden wrote that Thanksgiving in 1975 was the first holiday he and his now-wife Jill spent together, taking his young sons Beau and Hunter to Nantucket for some bonding time .

Since then, they have rarely missed a vacation on Nantucket.

One of the few Thanksgivings the Bidens missed there was in 2015, which occurred about six months after Beau Biden’s death.

The family went to Rome instead. They also skipped the trip in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The island became a place with many memories for the family. Beau proposed to his future wife Hallie during the city’s Christmas tree lighting in 2001 and married her at a downtown church.

“We had some great years during that time, and some bad years too, but no matter what happened, whatever bumps and bruises we suffered, we put it all aside and celebrated Thanksgiving on Nantucket,” the president wrote in his memoirs.

“The holiday trip was a constant in our grandchildren’s lives from the moment they knew it, and they made it clear how much it meant to them.”

While on the island, the Bidens are staying at Rubenstein’s $34 million, 13-acre property in Nantucket Harbor.

It is a sprawling property on the island’s secluded inner harbor, with beautiful views of the water as the sun sets in the background.

Rubenstein bought the waterfront property in 2000 for his now ex-wife Alice and their three children. He demolished the existing house and built a 13,000-square-foot home with a tennis court, pool, hot tub and private dock.

Zillow estimates it would cost $30,000 per month to rent.

The home is located on historic Abrams Point off Polpis Road – named after one of the last remaining Native Americans of the Wampanoag people, Abram Quary.

Biden kicked off the Thanksgiving celebration on Monday when he pardoned two turkeys — Peach and Blossom — in his final turkey pardon as president.

The Commander-in-Chief filled his speech with cringe-inducing one-liners about “fowl play” that were interrupted at one point by Peach’s growl.

‘Yes, I hear you. Peach just wants to say something,” Biden responded.

“They tell me there are 2,500 people here… looking for pardon!” Biden joked as he addressed the crowd on the South Lawn.

“Keep calm and carry on,” he added, before switching to a more serious tone to reflect on the “honor of a lifetime” as president.

The lame duck President Joe Biden on Monday granted Thanksgiving pardons to Blossom and Peach turkeys to save them from an American family celebration

Beau Biden examines one of the turkeys

President Joe Biden, 82, joked about his age — and being “fired” — as he served Brussels sprouts at a Coast Guard “Friendsgiving” on Staten Island on Monday evening

The topic of pardons is an ongoing one in the White House, with Hunter Biden set to be convicted of tax crimes in the coming months.

The president has repeatedly said he will not pardon or commute his son’s sentence.

But Biden does have the power to grant reprieve to anyone he wants, including his son, the people worried about Donald Trump’s retaliation, and even turkeys.

“I hereby forgive Peach and Blossom!” he declared. As he granted the pardon, Hunter’s son Baby Beau watched from the sidelines.

Blossom and Peach weigh 40 and 41 pounds respectively and were raised on a farm in Northfield, Minnesota.

They were raised by John Zimmerman, president of the National Turkey Federation, and his 9-year-old son Grant.

After being pardoned, the turkeys will return to Farmamerica, an agricultural interpretation center in Waseca, Minnesota.

After the pardon, he and first lady Jill Biden went to Staten Island to celebrate a “Friendsgiving” with Coast Guard members and their families.