PRESIDENT Joe Biden has repeatedly been blasted for the amount of time he has spent on vacation since taking office, which could eventually surpass the amount taken by several past presidents.
Since January 20, 2021, the 46th president has served 1,086 days in office – as much as 40% of which he has reportedly taken for personal time.
The exact amount of vacation days Biden has used has heavily been disputed.
In May 2023, the Washington Post reported that the president had used 256 days on vacation or at one of his homes in Delaware.
Meanwhile, the New York Post reported in September, 2023 that he had taken 382 days for personal time.
One month later, CNN claimed Biden spent 235 days away from the White House in Delaware or Maryland.
In December, 2023, the New York Post reported that the president had spent approximately 37% of the entire year on vacation – a total of 138 days.
At the time, the outlet claimed the number was slightly less than 2022.
If Biden had spent 138 days on vacation in both years, this would amount to 276 days of vacation.
The White House has defended the president, insisting he is capable of working for America no matter where he is in the country.
“The President has taken 16 days of vacation this year, and even on those days, he has worked,” Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton told the New York Post, when questioned about his vacation in 2023.
“Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Americans saw the President hold a slew of foreign head of state calls before announcing a deal to release hostages from Gaza the very next day.
Dalton continued, “The fact is: the President works every single day of the week whether he is in Washington, Delaware, Camp David, or anywhere else — and those around him and reporters who cover him closely know that.”
VACATIONS OF PRESIDENTS PAST
Despite the contested numbers – the sitting president could be on track to surpass the number of vacation days taken by previous presidents with only one year left in his term.
Throughout his one-term presidency, former President Donald Trump is said to have taken only 26% of his time in office for personal time, adding up to around 381 days according to the New York Post.
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama has been said to have taken only 11% of his eight-year presidency for vacation – totally in 328 days, according to CBS News White House reporter Mark Knoller.
Former President George W. Bush has been said to have taken the most vacation time in recent memory, taking upwards of 1,020 days over eight years.
Former President Bill Clinton joined Obama in keeping his vacation time low during his two-term presidency, only taking approximately 345 days of personal time.
RISING CRITICISM
While Biden’s vacation schedule for 2024 remains to be seen, many have blasted the president for the personal time he has already taken.
“It’s not ‘President Biden’, it’s Puppet Biden,” Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy told the New York Post in September.
“The managerial class uses Joe Biden as a front to advance its own agenda,” Ramaswamy said. “To them, Biden’s cognitive impairment isn’t a bug, and his vacation-day record isn’t a problem: It’s a feature.”
“With the amount of time this president is spending away from the White House, visitor records should be made public from all of Joe Biden’s residences,” Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer also told the outlet.
“Americans deserve the transparency they were promised from the Biden administration. All they are getting is obstruction.”
“Every month, we continue to see record-breaking encounters at our southern border,” Republican Texas Re. Mark Alford told Fox News Digital.
“Instead of pursuing solutions, Joe Biden is spending time on vacation. Mr. President the world is watching. They see that our borders are in shambles and your administration has zero intention of course correcting.”
The Republican State Leadership Committee has echoed similar criticism via social media writing, “While Americans continue to struggle to pay their bills, Joe Biden has been on vacation.”
Social media users have also blasted the 46th president.
“I can say with certainty, we really do NOT see how hard Joe #Biden is working,” one user wrote in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“He calls lids most days before mid-afternoon, and he has set a record for being on vacation over 40% of his Presidency.”
“All with 40% of his tenure on vacation. Most voters don’t get this much. Between all the time off and all the press conferences where Biden just comes out, parrots what’s on his cards, and then turns his back on the American people, there’s your fall campaign ads and issues,” another posted.
A third chimed in saying, “I didn’t realize President of the United States is a part-time job.”
