HYGO News Biden Gets Defensive About His Vacation Time in Rehoboth Beach: 'I Have No Home To Go To'
Biden Gets Defensive About His Vacation Time in Rehoboth Beach: “I Have No Home To Go To”
On September 3, 2023, President Joe Biden approached reporters stationed on King Charles Avenue outside St. Edmond Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and offered a new explanation for why he was, once again, at the beach: he had “no home to go to.” The claim — that Secret Service security upgrades to his Wilmington residence had left him temporarily without his primary home — was Biden’s latest attempt to deflect mounting criticism of his vacation schedule, which by that point had consumed more days than any modern president at the same point in their term.
The Exchange
Biden appeared to address the vacation issue unprompted, suggesting he was aware of the criticism. “Oh, and by the way, the reason why I’m here today, just for one day — I know you all think I’m on vacation — I’m not! I have no home to go to!” Biden said.
He elaborated: “The Secret Service tore my house up — in a good way to make it secure so I have no place to go so I’m here right now. I’m only here for one day.”
A reporter seized on the absurdity of the statement: “Are you homeless? Is that what you’re telling us?”
Biden pushed back: “No! I’m down here for the day because I can’t go home home,” he said, referring to his Wilmington residence.
The exchange captured several recurring elements of Biden’s public interactions during this period: the defensive tone when asked about his schedule, the convoluted explanations that raised more questions than they answered, and the gap between his characterizations and the observable reality.
The Vacation Numbers
Biden’s claim that he was at Rehoboth Beach only “for one day” and was “not” on vacation was difficult to reconcile with his August 2023 schedule. He had spent virtually the entire month of August moving between Rehoboth Beach and Lake Tahoe, with minimal public events or appearances. The Lake Tahoe portion of his vacation occurred during the catastrophic Maui wildfires, during which Biden’s initial response was a dismissive “no comment” when asked about the rising death toll.
By September 2023, various trackers estimated that Biden had spent approximately 40 percent of his presidency either on vacation or at personal residences away from the White House. This included extensive time at his Wilmington, Delaware, home, his Rehoboth Beach property, and various vacation destinations. The total number of days away exceeded the comparable figures for Presidents Trump, Obama, and Bush at the same point in their terms.
The vacation criticism was amplified by a transparency issue. Unlike the White House, which maintains public visitor logs, Biden’s Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach properties did not keep or release visitor records. This meant that whenever Biden conducted government business from these locations — meeting with advisors, receiving briefings, or hosting officials — there was no public record of who had access to the president. The lack of visitor logs became a particular concern during the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, some of which were found at his Wilmington residence.
The “Homeless” Defense
Biden’s explanation that Secret Service security upgrades had rendered his Wilmington home temporarily unusable was technically plausible — security modifications to presidential residences are routine — but it did not explain the broader pattern. He had been spending time at Rehoboth Beach long before any renovation project, and the Wilmington house situation did not account for the weeks spent at Lake Tahoe or other vacation locations.
The claim also had the unintended effect of making the President of the United States declare himself temporarily “homeless” — a characterization so unusual that a reporter immediately asked if that was what he was saying. For a president who frequently invoked his working-class roots and his identity as “Scranton Joe,” the suggestion that he was without a place to stay — while standing outside a beach house in one of Delaware’s wealthiest resort towns — struck an odd note.
Biden’s Rehoboth Beach property, purchased in June 2017 for $2.74 million, is a six-bedroom home located near the ocean. It was one of two personal properties Biden maintained in Delaware, the other being his Wilmington residence. The idea that the president was in any meaningful sense without a “home” strained credulity, particularly given that he was speaking from one of his two multi-million-dollar properties.
The Broader Vacation Criticism
Biden’s vacation schedule had been a running source of criticism since early in his presidency, but it intensified significantly in 2023 for several reasons.
First, the frequency and duration of his absences from Washington had increased. Biden’s August 2023 schedule was almost entirely devoted to personal time, with few public events or appearances. For a president who was simultaneously seeking reelection and facing questions about his age and fitness, the extended absences from public view fueled rather than quelled concerns.
Second, the vacation time coincided with multiple crises. The Maui wildfires killed over 100 people while Biden was at Lake Tahoe. The East Palestine train derailment had occurred seven months earlier, and Biden still had not visited the site. Gas prices were elevated. Inflation remained a concern. The optics of an absent president during a period of multiple domestic challenges were damaging.
Third, Biden’s vacation destinations undercut his “Middle Class Joe” messaging. Lake Tahoe, Rehoboth Beach, and the surrounding areas of coastal Delaware are affluent resort communities. While there is nothing unusual about a president taking vacations, the specific destinations and the duration of the trips were difficult to square with Biden’s frequent rhetorical positioning as a champion of working-class Americans.
The Church Appearance
The setting of Biden’s remarks was itself notable. He was leaving St. Edmond Catholic Church, where he attended Mass. Biden’s Catholic faith was a significant part of his public identity, and he regularly attended services at St. Edmond’s during his Rehoboth Beach stays. However, his relationship with the Catholic Church was complicated by his public support for abortion rights, which put him at odds with Catholic doctrine and led some bishops to publicly question whether he should receive Communion.
The choice to address reporters outside a church, rather than in a formal setting, contributed to the casual, impromptu quality of the exchange. Biden appeared to walk over to the press gaggle voluntarily, suggesting that he wanted to address the vacation narrative on his own terms. Instead, the interaction produced the “homeless” quote that became the day’s headline.
Two Days Later
The September 3 exchange at Rehoboth Beach set up the September 5 White House briefing, where Peter Doocy asked Karine Jean-Pierre why Biden had not visited East Palestine despite having time for Lake Tahoe. Jean-Pierre’s response — repeating “The president will go to East Palestine” three times without providing a date — compounded the damage from Biden’s “no home to go to” comment. Together, the two moments created a narrative of a president who had ample time for vacation but could not find the “occasion” to visit a disaster-stricken community in Ohio.
Biden’s claim that he had not had the “occasion” to visit East Palestine, combined with his Rehoboth Beach explanation that he had “no home to go to,” provided critics with a concise summary of the disconnect between Biden’s rhetoric and his actions. He portrayed himself as overworked and displaced, while his schedule showed weeks of vacation at luxury destinations.
Key Takeaways
- On September 3, 2023, Biden claimed he was at Rehoboth Beach because Secret Service security upgrades to his Wilmington home left him with “no home to go to,” prompting a reporter to ask if he was “homeless.”
- Biden had spent virtually all of August 2023 between Rehoboth Beach and Lake Tahoe, with minimal public events, fueling criticism of his extensive vacation schedule.
- By September 2023, Biden had spent approximately 40 percent of his presidency at personal residences or vacation locations, without public visitor logs at those properties.
- The “no home” exchange occurred outside St. Edmond Catholic Church, where Biden had attended Mass during one of his frequent Rehoboth Beach stays.
- The vacation criticism was compounded by Biden’s simultaneous failure to visit East Palestine, Ohio, seven months after the Norfolk Southern train derailment, and his “no comment” response during the Maui wildfires while vacationing at Lake Tahoe.