Yes, Biden has spent the most time on vacation in modern POTUS history

No, it’s not just your imagination. It might seem like every time you turn around, Joe Biden is being led away to Marine One to be whisked off to one of his beachside mansions, or Camp David, or some other leisure destination. As it turns out, it seems that way because it actually is that way. The RNC has done the research, broken out a calculator, and discovered that Joe Biden has spent 353 days on vacation at various locations since taking office only 29 months earlier. That’s not only more than Trump (who spent more than his fair share of time at Mar-a-Lago), but more than Obama, Bush 43, Clinton, and every other president in modern history. In other words, Joe Biden has spent just shy of 40% of his first term on vacation.

A shirtless Joe Biden enjoys a relaxing day at the beach.

Biden has spent 353 days — 39.2% of his presidency — on vacation. pic.twitter.com/1IpnjlNglS

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 8, 2023

So where did Joe Biden spend those 354 days on vacation since taking office? The RNC has a detailed breakdown.

• 237 days in Delaware (188 days in Wilmington and 49 days in Rehoboth Beach)
• 91 days at Camp David
• 26 days at “other destinations” (12 days in Nantucket, seven days in Kiawah Island, SC, and seven days in the U.S. Virgin Islands)

Biden’s habit of playing hooky has become so obvious that even the WaPo felt compelled to report on it in May. So how does he stack up against other presidents in our lifetimes?

His predecessor, Donald Trump (who was also a fan of getting out of Washington), spent 381 days on vacation over his entire first term. Biden is on pace to beat that before his third year is out. Barack Obama, who famously loved to hit the links, spent 328 on vacation over his entire eight years in office. Biden has beaten that record in less than three. Clinton barely edged out Obama at 345 days.

The only one to come close to Biden in terms of vacation frequency was Bush 43. He was missing in action for 1,020 days over the course of his presidency. That works out to 34.9%, still lower than Uncle Joe, however. Shockingly, the true champion workhorse in the modern era turns out to be Jimmy Carter, who took only 79 days on vacation over four years, or 5.4% of his presidency. Sadly, that’s proof that spending more time on the job doesn’t automatically translate to better results for the nation. But at least he was putting in the effort.

Unfortunately, even when Joe Biden is in Washington, he’s not “on the job” very much. Biden averages a 30-hour work week, with his staff frequently calling a lid before noon. On the rare occasions when he does emerge, he frequently seems a bit addled, as if he’s just gotten up from a nap. Of course, perhaps I shouldn’t have said “unfortunately.” Looking around at the cascading series of crises engulfing the country under Biden’s tenure, if he has “accomplished” all of that in 30 hours per week, just imagine how much damage he could do if he was putting in 60.