President Joe Biden told reporters Sunday that he had “no home to go to,” citing that as the reason he was spending another night at his vacation house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden seemed a little defensive about his presence at the popular seaside destination, particularly following criticism he received for sunning on the beach in Delaware in the immediate aftermath of the deadly Maui wildfires.
“By the way, the reason I’m here today, just for one day — I know you think I’m on vacation, I’m not. I have no home to go to,” Biden told reporters, apparently unprompted, Sunday after attending Mass at St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach.
“The Secret Service has torn my house up in a good way to make it secure, so I have no place to go when I come to Delaware except here right now. I’m only here for one day,” he added, referring to his Wilmington residence.
“Are you homeless?” a reporter asked lightheartedly.
“No, I’m not homeless,” Biden responded. “I just have one home. I have a beautiful home. But I’m down here for the day because I can’t go home, home.”
“I have no home to go to. Secret Service has torn my house up, in a good way, to make it secure. I have no place to go when I go to Delaware except here right now. I’m only here for one day. No I am not homeless, I just have 1 home I have a beautiful home”
– Biden Rehoboth Sunday pic.twitter.com/xlUl3NnNwZ— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 4, 2023
As noted by Chad Gilmartin, a spokesman for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Biden made a similar claim about the Secret Service working on his Wilmington house back in April.
Biden has been making this claim for nearly five months. https://t.co/Eu5gBFzAYz
— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) September 4, 2023
Biden arrived at Rehoboth Beach on Saturday after surveying the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia in Florida earlier in the day.
The president toured the damage caused by the Maui wildfire on Aug. 21, nearly two weeks after the disaster that left over 100 people dead and caused billions of dollars in damage, The New York Times reported.
The president broke away from his weeklong Lake Tahoe vacation at the Nevada home of billionaire Democratic donor and 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer in order to make the Hawaii trip.
The New York Post reported Saturday that Biden has spent a record 40 percent of his time on personal trips away from the White House since becoming president.
Slacker-in-chief Biden keeps up record 40% ‘vacation’ pace despite disasters https://t.co/n8Y6SIf184 pic.twitter.com/GC1JMMtXBl
— New York Post (@nypost) September 3, 2023
The next closest is President George H.W. Bush, who spent 36 percent of his presidency outside of Washington.
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Former President Donald Trump was away 26 percent of the time on personal trips, while Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan each spent about 11 percent of their time away from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“We have a president who simply hasn’t been working hard for us,” Republican Party spokeswoman Madison Gesiotto Gilbert said in a Labor Day video posted on the social media platform X.
“With everything we’re up against right now, the American people deserve better,” she said. “We deserve a president working hard for us in the White House, in the Oval [Office], solving America’s greatest problems.”
Biden has spent over 40% of his Presidency on vacation! He needs to be fired in 2024! https://t.co/Jux2ui917v
— Madison Gesiotto Gilbert (@madisongesiotto) September 4, 2023
An Associated Press/NORC poll published last week found that 77 percent of American voters believe the 80-year-old Biden is too old to serve a second term.
That figure included 69 percent of Democrats who participated in the survey.
