But the two trips beg the question: Why doesn’t he spend a few days in Europe, play a round of golf, visit some American troops or meet with a foreign leader or two? He is 81, after all, and some of his aides half his age are complaining about lack of sleep.
The White House’s explanation for Biden’s four transatlantic flights in nine days was simply that Biden had things to do in Washington. But by the president’s standards, his public schedule seemed light: lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris and a speech to a gun safety group. The trial of Hunter Biden was also shrouded in the plans, although it was impossible to know the timing of those travel plans, with the case going to a jury and a verdict in the three days between the D-Day trip and the Group of Seven meeting. As it turned out, Mr. Biden flew back to Delaware on Tuesday afternoon to reunite with his son, then took off again in the morning.
But privately, some aides say an election year requires consideration. One Biden adviser conceded that there was no pressing reason to stay in Europe and that a few days off “might not look good,” though the aide was quick to add that Biden has never actually taken a vacation. In any case, no one wants to see photos of the president on what his political opponents might perceive as a European vacation, at least while he’s running for reelection. A long weekend in Rehoboth, Delaware, where he and his wife, Jill, have a beach house, might be one thing; a few days in France or Italy is another thing entirely.
The presidency, of course, is the ultimate work-from-anywhere job, with the president equipped with instant messaging (the White House van has antennas everywhere) and hundreds of staffers ready to respond to any eventuality, whether it’s sending a thank-you note or launching a retaliatory nuclear strike.
Presidential travel abroad, except for work, has long been frowned upon. Franklin Roosevelt loved camping on Campobello Island, Canada, but as president he allowed only brief trips. When Harry S. Truman traveled to Potsdam, Germany, to negotiate with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill about the look of post-World War II Europe, he stayed for more than two weeks. Truman took a few days off during the negotiations, but not for long, and the nearest major city, Berlin, was bombed to ruins. And there was another reminder of the risks of going abroad: Churchill’s party lost to Labour during a conference, and he was ousted during the conference.
