Joe Biden Has Set Another Record — Most Time Away From the Oval Office – Even before taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden has been quick to tout his accomplishments.
It was in December 2020 that the then-president-elect’s team announced that Biden had broken former President Barack Obama’s record for the most votes ever cast for a U.S. presidential candidate.
Officially, Biden received more than 81,284,000 votes. Of course, it should be noted that due to the record turnout that year former President Donald Trump also surpassed Obama’s tally and received more than 74,221,000 votes.
Thanks to the economic recovery as the country settled into a new normal following the Covid-19 pandemic that shuttered businesses as the result of “stay at home” orders, the Biden administration also was quick to highlight the fact that it set a first-year record of jobs added with 6.6 million.
Of course, it could be argued many of those individuals were simply returning to the jobs they had – but a win is still a win.
This month, President Joe Biden set another record, and unlike the highest votes and the impressive number of jobs added, this is one that the White House hasn’t so gleefully hyped. That is because as of this Monday, Biden took his 367th day of vacation – more than a full year – in just two and a half years in office.
Biden has essentially been on vacation for roughly 40 percent of his time in office and has already outpaced every single one of his modern predecessors.
Out of the Oval Office
It is true that as the leader of the free world, the president isn’t really on vacation the same way as others – but Joe Biden already won’t set any records for having the best work ethic.
Does he really care about America? Taking so much time off isn’t exactly a good sign.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) compared Biden’s time out of the Oval Office with the most recent former presidents and with more than a year and a half left in his first term, the current POTUS is set to surpass Donald Trump, who was repeatedly called out in the media for spending 381 days (26 percent) of his time away from the White House.
The RNC also reported that Barack Obama spent 328 days (11.2 percent) on vacation while Bill Clinton spent 345 days (11.8 percent). Ronald Reagan spent just 335 days (11.5 percent) during his two terms on vacation, and George H.W. Bush 41 spent considerably more – 533 days (36.5 percent) away – in his single term. George W. Bush didn’t take as much time away as his father but he spent 1,020 days (34.9 percent) at his ranch and other getaway spots.
Biden has been compared to Jimmy Carter for their policies, but clearly, they have very different attitudes on time away as Carter spent a mere 79 days (5.4 percent) on vacation.
Biden Hates D.C.
President Biden has spent most of his vacation time at his home in Delaware, either at his house in Wilmington or his beach house in Rehoboth Beach. That has included weekends, as Biden continued the tradition of trying to return to his homes as much as possible. As a United States Senator, Biden was known to take the train home to Delaware almost nightly – so much so that he earned the nickname “Amtrak Joe.”
As of last month, before the week-long vacation, the president had spent 63 of 128 weekends in Delaware, another 27 weekends at Camp David, and just 25 weekends in D.C. Biden has also taken several trips to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, while he made two trips to the U.S. Virgin Islands and one trip to South Carolina during his time as president.
Joe Biden: Working From Home?
His supporters have justified his trips as most had close proximity to the White House, compared to other presidents who traveled to states not adjacent to D.C. Most of the travel didn’t require the use of the presidential plane that is commonly known as Air Force One.
In addition, Biden’s frequent travel to Delaware has been categorized as work trips – essentially the president was working from home, just not the White House!
“The presidency is a nonstop job that chief executives can do from anywhere in the world,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the New York Post last August when Biden was also called out for the time he had spent away from Washington. “Regardless of location, he has taken fewer vacation days than the modern norm. Being somewhere other than the White House is not the same thing as being on vacation.”
Critics of any administration might also point out that being somewhere other than the White House is not the same as being 100 percent on the job.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
