President Joe Biden will return to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware this weekend – again – after taking a weeklong vacation in Rehoboth last week.
The president’s schedule is raising criticism – and tapping into concerns that Joe Biden is too old to handle the rigors of the presidency.
“Biden’s had a busy week traveling to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah,” Delaware Online reported. “He hosted the Houston Astros at the White House, announced a new national monument near Grand Canyon and attended campaign fundraisers. Now, apparently, he’s ready for some R&R at his North Shores home.”
Joe Biden taking heat for his vacations
Listen, it’s the weekend.
The president can go to his beach house for the weekend without it being news.
And of course, the president is still equipped to govern and be productive from wherever he happens to be.
That being said, Biden’s schedule has raised concerns about the octogenarian’s vitality.
He apparently doesn’t work in the mornings, takes a lunch break, doesn’t work in the evenings, and doesn’t work on the weekends.
That’s a pretty light schedule for the commander in chief, for a job renowned for turning its occupants grey.
Biden is working fewer hours than a schoolteacher.
Or a nurse.
Or an attorney.
Which is fine on its face, Hie Biden should be careful to guard against burnout; he should take measures to make sure he stays as sharp as possible (as should everyone).
But Biden’s workload emphasizes his age in frailty.
He looks old and he sounds old.
So old that many Americans question whether Biden’s reelection bid is responsible. He’s already exceeded the life expectancy.
A second term would extend beyond Biden’s 86th birthday, meaning his survival is statistically dubious. But before Biden gets to a second term, he has to get through a campaign.
Can Joe Biden handle a campaign?
Biden’s campaign benefited from the 2020 pandemic in that the pandemic allowed Biden to campaign over Zoom from his basement.
He got to skip the coast to coast tour. He got to skip the handshaking and the stump speeches and the baby kissing. He got to preserve his energy and pick his battles selectively and curate his image carefully from within the confines of his own home.
But Joe Biden won’t have that luxury in 2024. Barring another global pandemic, Biden will have to campaign in the traditional way.
Coast to coast, out and about, with the public and fundraisers and endorsees. The schedule is grueling for anyone. For an octogenarian, the schedule is unthinkable – in part because (to my knowledge) no octogenarian has ever campaign for the presidency.
Biden’s ability to handle a campaign will be contrasted against whoever his opponent happens to be. And in all likelihood, Biden’s opponent is going to be Donald Trump. Curiously, Trump is also quite old, just a few years younger than Biden. But Trump is still vigorous. He speaks and moves with energy. His social calendar seems hectic. Not out of any requirement but simply because Trump prefers to stay busy and active and very much within the public’s eye. Essentially, Trump makes Biden look old.
And while Biden taking a weekend trip to Rehoboth Beach may seem innocuous enough, the trip conjures concerns of Biden on the campaign trail, or amidst his second term, fatigued and groggy after a long week of presidenting.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor and opinion writer at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
From 19FortyFive
