Camp David, Then Wilmington: Jean-Pierre Says Biden 'Tends to Have Internal Meetings' (January 27, 2023)

With classified documents recently found at President Joe Biden’s Wilmington home, the White House laid out his schedule [2]. It began and ended out of town. “Today, the President will head to Camp David. On Sunday, he will travel to Wilmington, Delaware,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said [1].

The following Friday, she said, after a trip to Philadelphia, “the President will travel to Wilmington, Delaware, where he will remain over the weekend” [1].

A reporter asked what Biden would be doing. “Is there anything you can share about his plans for Camp David, since he’s doing Camp David and Wilmington this weekend? Are there any meetings that are scheduled at Camp David or things that are government-related this weekend?” [1]

“So, he tends to have internal — internal meetings, as you all know, with his — with his team. Don’t have anything to read out, as well, at this time,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

The video above shows that exchange from the Jan. 27, 2023, briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Difficult for the President”

It was the night video in the Tyre Nichols case was set to be released in Memphis. Another reporter asked whether Biden would delay his trip [1].

“Any chance the President would delay his departure to Camp David tonight in order to see the video release when it’s scheduled? And because Camp David is one of the places where it’s actually difficult for the President to immediately address the nation if there were to be a concern, do you expect that he may want to say something in a live way?” the reporter asked [1].

“So, I don’t have any changes for you on his — on his schedule today,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”Just for That One Night”

The questions kept coming. “Is there a specific reason the President is leaving Camp David to go to Delaware just for that one night on Sunday?” a reporter asked [1].

“I don’t have anything to preview about what he’s going to be doing specifically. All I can tell you is that he’s going to be leaving Camp David and going to Wilmington, Delaware,” Jean-Pierre answered [1].

”Very Blue Cities”

In between the weekends, Biden was scheduled for Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia. A reporter noticed a pattern. “But they’re obviously very blue cities. Why the focus on those three places next week? Why did you guys pick them?” [1]

“Well, I think — you know, I — well, first, I’m not going to get ahead of the President,” Jean-Pierre said, pointing instead to an earlier stop in Kentucky with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell [1].

The same briefing brought a staff shakeup. Jean-Pierre noted “the President’s announcement today that White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain will be departing in the coming weeks, and Jeff Zients will succeed him as Chief of Staff” [1].

”Approximately 52 Trips”

The Wilmington house was already under scrutiny. Days earlier, House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., had asked the Secret Service who visited it. “Comer said Biden has made ‘approximately 52 trips,’ totaling 164 days, to his Wilmington home since taking office as president,” Fox News reported [2].

“The White House has said there is no visitor log for Biden’s Wilmington house,” Fox reported [2].

“Given the White House’s lack of transparency regarding President Biden’s residential visitor logs, the Committee seeks information from the Secret Service regarding who had access to his home since serving as Vice President,” Comer’s letter said [2].

”No Responsive Records”

The Secret Service had already turned away a records request. In a letter dated Sept. 27, 2022, a Secret Service deputy director wrote, “This search also produced no responsive records,” Fox News reported, citing the New York Post [3].

“It remains unclear who President Biden has met with at his homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,” Fox reported [3].

”Running Out of January”

A reporter also pressed on Biden’s overdue physical. “And we’re running out of January, and you had told us that we’d have the physical and the information about the President’s physical. Any update on whether that might slide into February now?” [1]

“I don’t have any updates on that at this time,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

By the Numbers

2: Wilmington weekend stops on the schedule Jean-Pierre read out [1].
52: trips to the Wilmington home, approximately, per Comer [2].
164: days those trips totaled, per Comer [2].
0: visitor logs the White House said it kept for the house [2].
3: cities on the next week’s schedule, all of which a reporter called “very blue” [1].

What Happened Next

The documents report. In February 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to charge Biden. He wrote that Biden would likely present himself to a jury “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” [4]. For more, see HYGO News’ page on the special counsel interview.

For what the White House said about Tyre Nichols that same day, see HYGO News’ page on that briefing, and for more of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record, the Karine Jean-Pierre record page.