The White House on Monday revealed who is leading the country as President Joe Biden heads into his second week of vacation.
“You know better than that,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters who asked who was running the country.
“The president is on vacation, but he can never disconnect from work like this. He doesn’t even try to,” Kirby said in a press conference via Zoom.
“He’s in complete control,” he said of Biden.
He pointed to Biden speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday as evidence the president is working.
Biden, 81, is at his beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware, after spending a week at a private 8,000-acre ranch in Santa Ynez, California. He is scheduled to return to the White House after Labor Day weekend.
Vice President Kamala Harris is in Washington, D.C., with nothing on her public agenda until Wednesday, when she heads to Georgia for a two-day bus trip to campaign in the state.
President Joe Biden shakes hands with First Lady Jill Biden as they disembark from Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base before departing for Rehoboth Beach
The White House has long maintained that Biden can carry out the duties of president wherever he goes.
When the president travels, a member of the National Security Council staff travels with him to keep him informed on foreign affairs and a member of the staff from the chief of staff’s office is with him to keep him updated on domestic affairs.
He and first lady Jill Biden arrived at their multi-million dollar beach house in Rehoboth on Sunday night.
Biden is on his 114th visit to Delaware, spanning all or part of 328 days, according to journalist Mark Knoeller, who follows presidential travel. That’s far more than Donald Trump at a similar point in his term: He spent 51 visits and 240 days at either of his properties in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, or Bedminster, New Jersey.
It is the second consecutive week of inactivity for the Bidens.
They He left by plane for Santa Ynez, CaliforniaMonday night after Biden addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The couple, along with their children and grandchildren, stayed at a California ranch owned by a billionaire Democratic donor. Joe Kiani is an American film and television actor.
The property is located about three hours north of Los Angeles in the Santa Barbara wine region.
Kiani has been a major donor to Biden’s campaigns and a family friend. Hunter Biden visited the $50 million winery last year.
Nicknamed the ‘Kiani ReserveThe 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 is known to enjoy a glass or two of wine.
Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21 after his terrible debate performance against Donald Trump, raising concerns about his mental abilities.
“For the next six months, I will be focused on doing my job as president,” Biden said in his Oval Office address on July 24.
President Joe Biden is on his 114th visit to Delaware, spanning all or part of 328 days
On 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 an attack outside Kabul airport during the evacuation from Afghanistan.
The former president laid a series of wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then made a private visit to Section 60, the area of the cemetery where those killed in Afghanistan are buried.
He was accompanied by relatives of some of the US soldiers killed in the Abbey Gate bombing. He was also accompanied by two Marines who were wounded in the attack: Corporal Kelsee Lainhart, who was paralysed in the attack and now uses a wheelchair, and Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who lost his right arm and left leg.
The visit also allowed him to link rival Kamala Harris to what he calls “the most shameful 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, beginning the second week of his summer vacation.
The visit also allowed Trump to counter reports that he has no respect for veterans and has previously referred to fallen World War II soldiers as fools 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 retired Marine Corporal Kelsee Lainhart, who was injured in the Abbey Gate attack
The former president placed three wreaths at the grave, two in honor of Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee, two Marines killed in the attack, and another wreath dedicated to the 13 service members who died in the attack.
She also brought flowers to the grave of SSG Ryan Knauss, a Marine killed in the attack, and spoke to Knauss’ parents who were unable to be there, according to her campaign.
At the event, Trump was seen with Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who is now helping Trump with debate preparation.
Monday marks three years since 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 group claimed responsibility for the attack.
“This is the third anniversary of the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, the most shameful moment in the history of our country,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
‘Gross incompetence: 13 American soldiers DEAD, hundreds of Americans injured and killed, and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND.’
Some of the relatives of those killed appeared onstage at the Republican National Convention last month and said Biden had never publicly named their loved ones.
After Biden ended his reelection campaign, Trump has been at pains to link Harris to some of the administration’s most criticized moments. He noted 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 review of the evacuation and found that U.S. officials should have begun the evacuation sooner, but widely blamed Trump, Biden’s predecessor in the Oval Office.
Biden’s team cited a deal Trump made with the Taliban to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan.
The White House criticized Trump’s visit to the cemetery, apparently indicating that it was only for television cameras.
“There are many ways that we as a nation and our leaders can commemorate the third anniversary of Abby Gate, and I think that at least one of the families invited Mr. Trump, or perhaps several, to lay a wreath at Arlington, and that is certainly one way to acknowledge the sacrifice and the loss. But it was a personal invitation from supporters,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“Another way is to keep working, maybe not with a lot of fanfare, maybe not with a lot of public attention, maybe not with television cameras, but working” every day “to make sure that the families of the fallen and the wounded and injured, 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 association with the military, including the first lady’s work with Joining Forces.
President Biden lays flowers at grave of Master Sergeant Ryan Knauss
The White House on Monday released separate statements from Harris and Biden on the attack.
Harris said she mourns the deaths of the 13 U.S. service members who died.
“My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart is broken by their pain and loss,” she said.
He said he honors and remembers all Americans who served in Afghanistan.
“As I’ve said, President Biden made the brave and right decision to end America’s longest war. Over the past three years, our administration has shown that we can still take out terrorists, including the leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS, without deploying troops into combat zones,” he said.
“I will never hesitate to take any action 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 deliberately vicious attack at Abbey Gate, just outside Kabul airport, killing 13 American service members and more than 100 innocent Afghans. Today, and every day, we honor our fallen,” he said.
“These 13 Americans – and many more who were injured – were patriots in the highest sense,” Biden said in the statement.