How Biden spent his vacation after six weeks that shook his presidency

By Michael Williams and Arlette Saenz, CNN

(CNN) — After spending much of the summer under the harshest microscope of his career, President Joe Biden spent most of the last two weeks out of sight as he prepared for the final act of his political life and a very different end to 2024 than he would have imagined a few months ago.

Following a whirlwind six weeks after ending his future in presidential politics, Biden has spent the time since delivering last week’s opening-night address at the Democratic National Convention resetting in California and Delaware before he’s expected to start hitting the campaign trail in earnest to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

The president has spent this week soaking up the sun on the beach near his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, joined by first lady Dr. Jill Biden and two of her sisters. Biden appeared to get in some work from the sand: He’s been seen reading papers as streams of onlookers filed past, waving, taking pictures, and giving the president brief words of thanks or encouragement.

The president has stayed out of the public eye for large stretches of his two-week, bicoastal vacation, charting out how to spend his remaining months in office after abandoning his bid for a second term in the White House. Biden is expected to return to the campaign trail on Monday to support Harris before returning to Washington.

While a late August presidential vacation is not unusual — commanders-in-chief typically use the August congressional recess to escape the nation’s capital for a more restful locale — Biden’s presidential vacation in California and Delaware follows one of the most difficult periods in the president’s five-decade political career, during which he faced weeks of public and private pressure to bow out of the 2024 race following a halting debate performance against former President Donald Trump.

Biden started last week at the Democratic National Convention with a speech passing the torch to his chosen successor, Harris, and insisting he wasn’t angry at those who demanded he step aside.

The president and his family then decamped to Santa Ynez, California, a quiet town surrounded by hills and vineyards in the same region as President Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo. The Biden family spent a week at a sprawling 8,000-acre ranch that boasts its own vineyard, owned by Democratic donor and Masimo CEO Joe Kiani.

During his six days on the West Coast, the president made only one brief outing — attending mass with his son Hunter and daughter Ashley at the Old Mission Santa Ines church in Solvang, California.

But he was still engaged in the convention, even though he was no longer the person the party was nominating. Ahead of Harris’ keynote address on the final night of the DNC last Thursday, Biden posted a picture on social media of him and Dr. Biden speaking to Harris over the phone while watching the convention on TV.

While the president stayed under the radar at the ranch, the first lady popped into shops in the area, including Santa Ynez General in Santa Ynez and the Book Loft in Solvang, where she signed a copy of her children’s book, “Willow the White House Cat.”

Biden and his family followed their California jaunt with a trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Sunday — where the president has remained through this week. The president is staying at his family vacation home, where six weeks ago he huddled with his closest advisers and reached the decision to end his presidential campaign.

Throughout his time in California and Delaware, the president participated in a series of calls with foreign leaders as the US continues to push for a deal that would see a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Hamas-held hostages, while trying to stop clashes between Israel and Hezbollah from devolving into a wider war that could draw in the United States and Iran.

As Israel and Hezbollah each carried out strikes over last weekend, the White House said the president was continuously monitoring the situation and engaged with his national security team from his California retreat.

Now free from the pressures and time constraints that come with being a campaign principal, Biden has worked over the last few weeks to set his legacy — with a special focus on foreign affairs. His administration’s negotiation with Russia that led to the largest prisoner exchange in decades at the beginning of this month was a crucial achievement.

Biden has also spoken with at least five world leaders since his convention speech last week. He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the continued threats from Iran and the need for a ceasefire deal last Wednesday.

Last Friday, still in California, Biden spoke with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and, separately, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to “discuss diplomatic efforts to bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to a conclusion,” the White House said. Those calls occurred as crucial hostage and ceasefire talks took place in Cairo.

Also on Friday, the president spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day, while rolling out an announcement about new aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

He also spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to discuss his Indian counterpart’s recent trip to Ukraine.And finally, Biden announced another set of judicial nominees during his vacation — putting him in a position to have named more judges on the bench than his predecessor.

Asked for more information about Biden’s activities since last week’s convention speech, the White House said there is “no such thing as a presidential ‘vacation’” while reiterating the series of calls Biden participated in.

“The president is always working wherever he goes,” White House spokesperson Saloni Sharma said in a statement.

During the Oval Office address where he announced he was dropping from the race, Biden vowed to be “fully engaged” with the campaign and closing out the final months of his administration.

The president is expected to be deployed by the campaign increasingly as the election draws closer, especially in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he lived as a child and still holds considerable sway. Those deployments will begin on Labor Day, when Biden is scheduled to appear with Harris during the campaign event in Pittsburgh.

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