Fresh off declaring economic success as the nation experiences 8.5% inflation, President Joe Biden is heading to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, for a vacation with the first lady, prompting the town’s local government to plead with residents to be “patient” due to increased heavy traffic over the next week.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that a White House source confirmed that Biden would stay on Kiawah Island for the next week but did not offer any more details. Local authorities warned of road delays while the president is in town because of increased security measures.
“All relevant entities have been contacted by the President’s security team to coordinate efforts to minimize the impact of the presidential visit on the community,” officials said in a statement.
“In any case, please be patient during traffic interruptions, as the timing of the President’s movements cannot be announced beforehand for security reasons,” the statement continued.
According to the island’s website, Kiawah is an “oasis of untouched natural beauty and renowned hospitality for those seeking a retreat into adventure and luxury. Enjoy our perfectly preserved maritime forests, sand dunes, and marshes where turtles, whitetail deer, and seabirds abound.”
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the president’s first year and a half in office, he has traveled to Delaware 46 times, Camp David 18 times, while playing 15 rounds of golf. He has also conducted 17 formal press conferences and 20 sit-down interviews during that time.
The Journal also noted that at this point in their presidencies, Biden had spent more days on personal travel than Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Biden’s August vacation in 2021 at Camp David was cut short after just three days because the Taliban had taken over Afghanistan as U.S. troops withdrew after 20 years in the Middle Eastern nation.
The Washington Post reported at the time, “One close Biden foreign policy ally, who is in regular contact with the White House and the State Department, said the president’s team would never have let him leave for Camp David had they known just how quickly Afghanistan would implode amid his decision to withdraw all U.S. troops by the end of the month.”
Once Biden was back in the White House, he admitted that the Taliban’s takeover happened more rapidly than he expected and blamed the calamity on the Afghan army and political leaders.
“I stand squarely behind my decision,” Biden said during an address regarding the withdrawal. “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”
“The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated,” Biden continued. “So what’s happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.”
The Bidens previously visited Kiawah Island in 2009, 2013, and 2015.
Source: Dailywire
