President Joe Biden spent 142 days on vacation in 2023, which equals 38.9% of the year. Most of the time was spent at his home in Delaware, but he also took ten trips to Camp David, traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and vacationed in Nantucket and Lake Tahoe.
During his Administration as a whole, Biden has spent 424 days on vacation, which equals 39.3% of his presidency. That makes him the president in modern U.S. history who has taken the most vacation time.
Donald Trump spent 26% of his presidential term on vacation, Barack Obama took 11.2% during his two terms, G.W. Bush spent 36.5% of his presidency on vacation, and Clinton took 11.8% of his presidential tenure to rest.
Biden has been widely criticized for his notable absence at critical moments. He has also been questioned for a lack of communication with the press and for avoiding questions. In fact, Biden is the president who has held the fewest press conferences since Reagan. The president's team appears to avoid as much interaction with the press as possible.
Biden needs a lot of vacation time and spends little time in engagements and press conferences, but despite his rare public appearances, his blunders are continuous. It is increasingly common to see the president lost on stage, confusing names, spouting nonsense phrases and even stumbling as he walks. Perhaps that is why his team avoids public events and prefers the president to rest.
His advanced age, but especially his mental health and cognitive abilities of the 81-year-old president, are a matter of strong discussion in this pre-election season. Even among Democrats, criticism and doubts are growing over the president's ability to lead the country for a second term.
