US President Joe Biden, 81, spent 532 days on holiday in less than four years of his presidency, about 40 per cent of the 1,326 days in office. (Updated 9 September at 02:00 p.m.)
According to a front-page report last year, he spent all or part of 382 of the first 957 days of his presidency on personal journeys with overnight stays outside the White House, ranking him as the only president to have taken the most holiday time.
Mark Paoletta, the general counsel of the White House budget office under former President Donald Trump, said:
The image of Biden fast asleep and lying flat on his back in his chair at the beach while America and the world is on fire will define the Biden presidency. Inflation has been out of control; prices still way too high; our border overrun with millions of illegal aliens committing violent crimes on our citizens; the world in a perilous state; and all Biden wants to do is go on holiday and check out – for more than 530 days.
Moreover, Biden has become even less active in public since his withdrawal from the presidential candidacy as he faces other Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat from California) who opposed him and put a lot of pressure on him to give up his re-election bid, NYP reported. He spent last Saturday relaxing in the sun in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and it was his 16th consecutive day of holiday.
Biden’s holiday time far exceeds that of his predecessors. Former President Donald Trump spent about 26 per cent of his presidency on personal travel, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama took even less time off – about 11 per cent during their two terms as presidents. Jimmy Carter took just 79 days off during his single term.
According to the Republican National Committee, an average US citizen with 11 days of holiday a year would take about 48 years to accumulate that many days off.
After his failed debate performance, Biden handed the leadership of the Democratic Party to his deputy Kamala Harris. She became the Democratic presidential candidate and will face off against 78-year-old Republican rival Donald Trump in the 5 November election. Both candidates are set to face off for an ABC News debate on 10 September.
