Nantucket braces for Biden’s arrival and stay at billionaire friend David Rubenstein’s $34million, 13-acre beachfront compound: Security is ramped up around property with tennis courts and a hot tub
President Joe Biden, his wife Jill, their children and grandchildren return to Nantucket on Tuesday to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at the luxurious $34 million complex owned by billionaire businessman turned philanthropist David Rubenstein.
Preparations for the arrival of the first family have already started on the island. Over the past week, large military cargo planes have landed at the island’s airport, carrying the equipment needed to secure the president for his stay.
On Monday, a fleet of Massachusetts State Police motorcycles and SUVs rolled off the ferry onto the city’s main drag to be ready for Biden’s visit. About twenty to thirty motorcycles drove off the boat, along with an ambulance and a dozen police cars.
Hundreds of people follow the president wherever he goes: Secret Service agents, support staff and members of the military. They will lock down the area around Rubenstein’s 13,000-square-foot home while the Bidens are at the residence.
The first couple will be joined by most of their grandchildren: Naomi Biden and her husband Peter Neal, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, Little Hunter and Baby Beau.
A fleet of Massachusetts State Police motorcycles arrived Monday by ferry to Nantucket, where the Biden clan will celebrate Thanksgiving again
The $34 million, 13-acre property where the Bidens are spending Thanksgiving
An ambulance, which is usually part of the presidential motorcade, arrived from the ferry to Nantucket Island on Monday
Massachusetts State Police SUVs and motorcycles arrived by ferry Monday ahead of Biden’s Thanksgiving trip to Tony Island
Only Baby Beau β and his parents Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen β joined the first family during Thanksgiving festivities last year.
First daughter Ashley Biden also made the trip to Nantucket last year.
This year the entire clan will be there to celebrate the holiday.
On Wednesday, they will celebrate President Biden’s 81st birthday on Monday, marking the occasion with coconut cake.
On Thursday, they will enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at the $34 million home and will also call military families to thank them for their service.
The meal is usually served at the Faregrounds Restaurant, where autographed photos of Biden adorn the walls.
On Fridays the family usually goes into town for lunch, shopping and lighting the Christmas tree.
President Biden usually goes to church on Saturdays. They return to Washington, DC on Sunday
President Joe Biden and his family will arrive on the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts on Tuesday to celebrate Thanksgiving
Massachusetts State Police resources arrive on Nantucket Monday, ahead of President Joe Biden’s arrival on the island Tuesday to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday
David Rubenstein’s estate occupies Abrams Point, a part of the island named after one of the last remaining Native Americans of the Wampanoag people, Abram Quary
The president and first lady will spend Thanksgiving with six of seven grandchildren, including Maisy Biden (left) and baby Beau (right)
Baby Beau with a turkey during Monday’s turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House
It’s unclear if the first family’s dog, Commander, will join them. He was there last year.
Jill and Ashley Biden were seen walking with him on their complex’s private beach on Thanksgiving Day.
But the dog was removed from the White House after biting Secret Service members.
The Bidens have been going to Nantucket for 48 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.
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.
During his vice presidential term, Biden and his grandchildren participated in the island’s Thanksgiving morning Cold Turkey Plunge, in which islanders and visitors gather at Children’s Beach and jump into the water to raise money for Nantucket Atheneum’s Weezie Library for Children.
Jill and Ashley Biden took Commander for a walk during Thanksgiving last year
Ashley holds up her phone to take a selfie with the first lady
The Bidens traditionally attend the city’s Christmas tree lighting. Hunter Biden, baby Beau, first lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden await the 2022 ceremony
One of the few Thanksgivings the Bidens missed in Nantucket 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.
βWe 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,β the president wrote in his memoirs.
βThe 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.β
While on the island, the Bidens are staying at Rubenstein’s $34 million, 13-acre property on Nantucket Harbor.
Biden previously stayed with Rubenstein on Nantucket, including in 2014 when he was vice president.
Exclusive photos from DailyMail.com show a sprawling property on the island’s secluded inland harbor with stunning water views 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.