“The White House is a gilded cage”… Biden Escapes Every Weekend

108 days after taking office outside the White House… More than Trump’s 70 days and Obama’s 40 days

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Baek Na-ri = Marine One, the presidential helicopter, took off from the White House around 8 pm on Friday, 22nd (local time).

US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden were riding on their way to their home in Wilmington, Delaware. It’s going to be out of the White House for the weekend.

On weekends, President Biden visits his Wilmington home, his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, or Camp David, the president’s home in Maryland. Weekends are rarely spent at the White House.

According to CNN’s analysis of his schedule after taking office on the 23rd, President Biden spent 276 days, 108 days at home or at a villa.

This is a total of all days as well as days spent partially. The 69th was Wilmington’s home, the 32nd was Camp David, and the 7th was Rehoboth Beach Villa.

Compared to previous presidents, it was noticeably higher.

Former President Donald Trump was away from the White House for 275 days after taking office, spending 61 days at a privately owned golf club in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and 9 days at Camp David, at a privately owned golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Former President Barack Obama had fewer than 40 days, and former President George W. Bush 84 days.

President Biden compared the White House to a ‘golden cage’ at a CNN town hall event in February. At the time, he joked, “When I wake up in the morning, I look at my wife and say, ‘Where the hell are we?'”

Former President Trump has also called the White House a “great white prison.” Former President Obama’s wife, Michelle, once called it a “very good prison,” CNN reported.

Not to mention, privacy isn’t that great in the White House. The office is on the first floor, and the second floor is the official residence, but there are reporters not far away and there are many eyes to see, so it is difficult to live as comfortably as at home.

When a protest takes place in the nearby Lafayette Park, you can hear everything, and before the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the White House was crowded with citizens and travelers on tour.

As President Biden leaves the White House every weekend and heads to his home in Wilmington, a question came up at a White House briefing in August.

White House press secretary Jen Saki said, “That’s the president’s house. Isn’t it nice to go home? So is the president. He is a person.”

Even if President Biden leaves the White House, remote work is possible using highly secure communications equipment.

But the problem is cost. Taxes are required to set up an environment where the president can work and mobilize the Secret Service (SS) and other escorts to launch Marine One.

During his tenure as President Trump, there were constant rumors of wasting taxes on Mar-a-Lago resorts and private golf clubs with his family.

nari@yna.co.kr

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2021/10/24 06:06 Send