Republicans continue to attack President Biden for the amount of time he is on vacation during his presidency.
Right-wing commentators have posted recent photos of President Biden on the beach in Delaware to claim he is a do-nothing lame duck and no one is running the country.
While he has spent a lot of time away from the White House, the time has been similar to the amount Donald Trump spent away while president according to lists compiled by some observers.
In fact, the Washington Post noted that both spent all or part of at least 250 days at their own properties or on vacation in the first 853 days of their presidencies, about four months into their fourth year in office.
Right-wing host Chase Geiser attacked Biden for taking his presidential salary while Donald Trump donated his and said he "spent over 40% of his term on vacation says it all."
The fact Trump didn’t take his presidential salary of $400K & Biden took all $1.6 million then spent over 40% of his term on vacation says it all.pic.twitter.com/a1RdHPzOB4
— Chase Geiser (@realchasegeiser) September 1, 2024
Conservative commentator Bill Mitchell claimed that Biden has spent 40% of his presidency on vacation and asked, "Seriously, who's running the country while he's working on his tan?"
Biden’s 16th day on the beach while the country’s in turmoil? That’s 532 days on vacation—40% of his presidency! Seriously, who’s running the country while he’s working on his tan?#VacationInChief #WhoIsInCharge #LeadershipMatterspic.twitter.com/lsalBffrgu
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) August 31, 2024
That 40% number came from data the Republican National Committee said it compiled.
While Republicans harp on Biden's time away from Washington, Donald Trump had a similar pattern of avoiding time at the White House while he was president.
He golfed more than 300 times during his presidency, according to a list compiled by the Seattle Medium.
Trump also spent many days at his resorts in places like Bedminster, N.J. and Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The group Citizens For Ethics said Trump visited Mar-a-Lago 134 times while president and visited his golf clubs 300 times while in office.
Both Trump and Biden could say that they continued to work, no matter where they were at the time. The president travels with a large team and receives constant updates on global emergencies.
In a statement to Fox News, the Biden White House dismissed the criticism of his time away from Washington.
"There is no such thing as a presidential 'vacation.' The President is always working wherever he goes," according to the statement.
