The White House announced Monday who will govern the country with President Joe Biden during his second week of vacation.
“You know better than that,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, reprimanding the reporter who asked who runs the country.
“The president is on vacation, but you can never pull the plug and walk away from a job like this. And he’s not trying to,” Kirby said in a Zoom briefing with reporters.
“He’s got a firm grip on the reins,” he noted of Biden.
He pointed out that Biden spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, proving that the president is working.
Biden, 81, is at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware, after spending a week at a private 20,000-acre ranch in Santa Ynez, California. He is expected to return to the White House after Labor Day weekend.
Vice President Kamala Harris is in Washington DC with nothing on her agenda until Wednesday, when she heads to Georgia for a two-day campaign bus trip.
President Joe Biden helps first lady Jill Biden disembark from Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base prior to departure for Rehoboth Beach
The White House has long maintained that Biden can perform the duties of a president wherever he goes.
When the president is traveling, a staff member from the National Security Council travels with him to keep him informed on foreign affairs. A staff member from the office of the chief of staff also travels with him to keep him informed on domestic affairs.
He and first lady Jill Biden arrived at their multimillion-dollar beach house in Rehoboth on Sunday evening.
Biden is on his 114th visit to Delaware, spanning 328 days, according to journalist Mark Knoeller, who tracks presidential travel. That’s a far cry from Donald Trump at a similar point in office: he spent 51 visits and 240 days at one of his estates in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, or Bedminster, New Jersey
It’s the second week in a row that the Bidens have no election.
She flew to Santa Ynez, CaliforniaMonday night after Biden delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The couple – along with their children and grandchildren – stayed at a ranch in California owned by the Democratic billionaire Joe Kiani.
The estate is located approximately three hours north of Los Angeles, in the Santa Barbara wine region.
Kiani is a major Biden campaign donor and a family friend. Hunter Biden toured the $50 million vineyard property last year.
Nicknamed the ‘Kiani Reserve‘, the 8,000 hectares have their own private vineyard, donkeys and a herd of cattle.
The estate’s vineyard produces bottles of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, among other wines. The president doesn’t drink, but the first lady has been known to enjoy a glass or two of wine.
Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 after his poor performance in the debate against Donald Trump, which led to concerns about his mental health.
“For the next six months, I am focused on my work as president,” Biden said in his speech from the White House on July 24.
President Joe Biden is making his 114th visit to Delaware, spanning all or part of 328 days.
This Monday, Biden remained out of sight as his predecessor — and possible successor — Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to the 13 Americans killed three years ago in a bombing outside Kabul airport during the evacuation from Afghanistan.
The former president laid a series of wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before making a private visit to Section 60, the part of the cemetery where soldiers killed in Afghanistan are buried.
He was accompanied by relatives of several American soldiers killed in a bombing at Abbey Gate. He was also accompanied by two Marines who were injured in the attack: Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart, who was paralyzed in the attack and is now in a wheelchair, and Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who lost his right arm and left leg.
The visit also allowed him to link his rival Kamala Harris to what he calls “the most embarrassing moment in our history.” Trump has repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden was in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Monday, at the start of the second week of his summer vacation.
The visit also provided Trump with an opportunity to debunk reports that he has no respect for veterans and that he has previously called fallen World War II soldiers losers and losers, reports Trump has denied.
Joe and Jill have a home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, which they visit often in the summer
Donald Trump lays a wreath next to Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart (Ret.), who was injured in the Abbey Gate bombing
The former president laid three wreaths at the grave, two in honor of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee — two Marines killed in the bombing — and another wreath in honor of all 13 service members killed in the attack.
He also brought flowers to the grave of SSG Ryan Knauss, a Marine killed in the attack, and spoke with Knauss’ parents, who were unable to attend, according to his campaign.
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who is now helping Trump prepare for his debate, was spotted with Trump at the event.
Monday marks the third anniversary of the August 26, 2021 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
“This is the 3rd anniversary of the FUCKING withdrawal from Afghanistan, the MOST AWKWARD moment in our country’s history,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
‘Gross incompetence – 13 DEAD American soldiers, hundreds wounded and dead, AMERICANS and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND.’
Several relatives of the victims appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention last month and said Biden had never publicly named their loved ones.
After Biden ended his reelection bid, Trump has sought to link Harris to some of the administration’s most criticized moments, noting that Harris said she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision on Afghanistan.
The Biden administration conducted a two-year internal investigation into the evacuation and concluded that U.S. authorities should have begun the evacuation earlier, but placed much of the blame on Trump, Biden’s predecessor in the White House.
Biden’s team pointed to a deal Trump made with the Taliban to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
The White House slammed Trump’s visit to the cemetery, pretending it was only for the television cameras.
“There are many ways that we as a nation and our leaders can commemorate the third anniversary of Abby Gate, and Mr. Trump was invited by at least one, I think maybe several families, to lay a wreath at Arlington and that is certainly one way to recognize the sacrifice and the loss. But it was a personal invitation from fans,” said John Kirby, White House spokesman for the National Security Council.
‘Another way is to continue to work, perhaps not with a lot of fanfare, perhaps not with a lot of public attention, perhaps not with TV cameras, but to ‘work every day to ensure that the families of those who fell and those who were wounded, not just at Abbey Gate but throughout the 20-plus years that we were in Afghanistan, had the support that they needed,’ he added.
Kirby highlighted Biden’s long history with the military, including her work with Joining Forces.
President Biden lays flowers at the grave of SSG Ryan Knauss
The White House released separate statements from Harris and Biden on Monday about the attack.
Harris said she mourns the 13 American service members who died.
“My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart breaks for their pain and their loss,” she said.
She said she honors and remembers all Americans who served in Afghanistan.
“As I said, President Biden made the courageous and right decision to end America’s longest war. Over the past three years, our administration has shown that we can still eliminate terrorists, including the leaders of al Qaeda and ISIS, without deploying troops to combat zones,” she said.
“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to counter terrorist threats and protect the American people.”
Biden also paid tribute to the fallen.
“Three years ago, an ISIS suicide bomber launched a deliberate act of evil at Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport, killing 13 American service members and over 100 innocent Afghans. Today, and every day, we honor our fallen,” he said.
“These 13 Americans — and the many others who were injured — were patriots in the highest sense of the word,” Biden said in the statement.