President Biden went on vacation for a second consecutive week on Monday with no public events scheduled for the next seven days, despite insisting he would continue to work on policies and legislation in the final months of his term.
Biden, 81, arrived at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, vacation home on Sunday after spending six nights with his family at Joe Kiani, the billionaire Democratic donor’s Santa Ynez, California ranch. Kiani has earned at least $3 million in federal contracts since Biden took office.
According to the official schedule released by the White House, the president is expected to remain on the coast until at least Friday.
Biden remained out of sight as his predecessor and likely successor Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the Kabul airport suicide bombing that killed about 200 people, including 13 U.S. soldiers, during Biden’s failed attempt to pull out of Afghanistan.
The president’s official schedule this week does not include any events outside of presidential rest and relaxation, which may include short walks to the beach with folding chairs, visiting local churches, bike rides and stops at restaurants.
Biden was forced to withdraw from the presidential race on July 21 by Democratic lawmakers concerned about his mental health, but he has refused calls to step down, arguing he has sufficient cognitive capacity to serve out the remaining six months of his term.
“For the next six months, I will be focused on the work of my presidency,” Biden said in an Oval Office speech on July 24, summarizing his decision not to run for a second term due to acknowledging health concerns.
“That means reducing the burden on hardworking families and keeping our economy growing,” Biden said. “And we’ll continue to protect individual freedoms and civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose. And we’ll continue to condemn hate and extremism and make it clear that there is no place for political violence in America.”
But since then, Biden’s schedule has been noticeably empty as Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, has been getting more attention as she takes on the Democratic running mate to challenge the 78-year-old Republican.
Last week, Mr. Biden departed Chicago with family members after speaking on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, as party members chanted “Thank you, Joe!”, trying to soften the blow of the insurrection that forced him to abandon the nomination.
Biden is set to leave office without ever giving a one-on-one interview to a journalist or fulfilling even a relatively simple campaign promise, such as visiting Africa.
White House observers widely speculate that either effort would be too much of a strain on the aging leader.
Though the president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, has maintained Biden’s mental and physical health is “good,” the same doubts that kept him off the campaign trail have sparked bipartisan calls for him to leave office.
“If Joe Biden is unfit to run for president, then he is unfit to serve, and he must resign immediately,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in July after the president dropped out of the race.
“I question the president’s health, his ability to perform his duties and his judgment as to whether he, and not unelected advisers, should be making important decisions for our country.” Rep. Marie Grusenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) agreed.“The American people should feel that their president is competent to do his job.”
