Wait — he’s still in charge.
President Biden was spotted lounging on a Delaware beach Wednesday during his second straight week of vacation from the White House.
The 81-year-old spent about two hours on the North Shores near Rehoboth Beach, Del., with first lady Jill Biden and two of her sisters.
He looked relaxed in colorful swim trunks, a white T-shirt and black cap, sitting on a beach chair while combing through documents.
It’s been nearly 10 days since the president has been in the Oval Office — despite insisting he’d finish out the last few months of his term by continuing to push policy.
Biden left the White House Aug. 19 to head to the Democratic National Convention, where he gave a rousing speech on the first night of the four-day fest anointing Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee.
He opted against staying in Chicago for the other three days of the major party gathering, instead jetting off to Santa Ynez, Calif., where he stayed at the $37 million estate of Joe Kiani, CEO of medical technology company Masimo.
Biden’s vacation at the billionaire donor’s lavish ranch wrapped up on Sunday when he flew down to Rehoboth Beach, where he has a vacation house and is expected to stay through at least Friday, per the White House schedule.
On Labor Day, Biden is scheduled to stump with Harris in Pittsburgh, Pa., marking their first joint campaign appearance since his veep ascended to the nomination.
The DNC had been expected to be Biden’s grand coronation to be the party standard bearer in the 2024 presidential election.
But that got thwarted after his fumbling debate performance against former President Donald Trump sparked a mutiny among Democrats that culminated in Biden’s July 21 bombshell that he was withdrawing.
Since that seismic announcement, the president has been laying low — and appears to have spent almost three-quarters of his time out of the White House. This includes his time spent at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
Speculation has swirled that Biden is keeping a low-key public profile because he’s annoyed with fellow Democrats who turned against him, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic — you’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say [something] … and I thought it’d be a real distraction,” Biden told “CBS News Sunday Morning” earlier this month.
Although Pelosi didn’t join the dozens of Democrats who urged him publicly to throw in the towel, some of her machinations have raised eyebrows.
This includes an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” — rumored to be one of Biden’s favorite political programs — in which Pelosi suggested it was an open question as to whether he’d remain in the race, despite two days earlier, the president telling Congress he was “firmly committed.”
Behind the scenes, Pelosi reportedly grilled Biden and some of his aides over the viability of his candidacy.
“Sometimes you have to take a punch for the children,” Pelosi told CNN in response to questions about her involvement in Biden’s decision.
After departing the convention, Biden told reporters, “No I haven’t spoken to her. No one made my decision but me. No one knew it was coming.”
Harris’ favorable rating has shot up and the race between her and Trump has grown much tighter since Biden’s announcement.
The VP, who still bills herself as the “underdog,” geared up Wednesday to kick off a bus tour in Savannah, Ga.
She is set to sit down with CNN for her first major televised interview since ascending to the nomination, and it will air on Thursday.
https://nypost.com/2024/08/28/us-news/biden-chills-on-delaware-beach-during-marathon-vacation-after-vowing-to-finish-out-strong/
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