Biden’s schedule is heavy on Delaware, light on press interviews and golf

The numbers, which cover the period from his inauguration to July 20, reflect a president who wants to return home often on weekends, as he did when he was a senator and vice president. They also emphasize a media strategy that relies more on prepared remarks and brief question-and-answer sessions with reporters than formal press conferences and interviews.

Republicans accused Mr. Biden, 79, of hiding from the press. Republican National Committee spokeswoman Emma Vaughn cited high inflation and other issues facing the administration, saying, “It’s no wonder Biden is choosing to hide rather than face his failures and answer to the American people.”

Republicans also sought to point out misstatements or apparent gaffes by Mr. Biden. At times, the White House has had to clarify statements made by Mr. Biden. In the spring, Mr. Biden said that U.S. policy toward the island of Taiwan had not changed after he caused global confusion by saying the U.S. would respond militarily to any Chinese effort to seize Taiwan by force. Earlier in the year, the White House dismissed comments by Mr. Biden that appeared to call for the ouster of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said the president often takes questions from reporters. Mr. Biden often answers questions while walking to Marine One, at Andrews Air Force Base or after remarks at the White House. On a recent trip to the Middle East, he spoke to a small group of reporters in Saudi Arabia and then took questions from reporters on the South Lawn when he returned.

Compared to recent presidents, Mr. Biden has spent more days on personal trips than Donald Trump, who spends significant time at his properties in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Palm Beach, Florida, or Barack Obama, who vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii. But Mr. Biden has spent fewer days away from the White House than George W. Bush, who made extensive use of Camp David and regularly traveled to his ranch in Crawford, Texas. This comparison includes full and partial days of absence for all presidents.

Last year, his efforts to get out in August were hampered by the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The summer vacation is a longstanding presidential tradition, and aides say it will be a work trip.

“The presidency is a continuous job that CEOs can do from anywhere in the world. And regardless of location, he took fewer vacation days than the modern norm,” Mr Bates said.

Mr. Biden traveled to and from Delaware on Amtrak during his 36 years as a senator; his primary residence is in Wilmington and he has a vacation home in Rehoboth Beach. Former Senator Ted Kaufman, a longtime friend of Mr. Biden, said he “likes Delaware. He is comfortable here. His family is mostly here. He has the community.”

Mr. Biden also has a home base much more convenient to Washington than many of his predecessors, making it easier to come home. Historian Douglas Brinkley said, “What makes him different about Biden is that he’s a helicopter ride away from Delaware. He mainly lives in the suburbs of Washington. It’s a little different than Reagan, who lived all over the country,” referring to the former president’s ranch near Santa Barbara, California.

White House aides and allies say Mr. Biden continues to work in his absence. This includes holding staff meetings, discussing issues, receiving briefings and conducting secure conversations. He always travels with a team that includes a member of the National Security Council staff and a representative of the White House chief of staff’s office.

“He basically has a team around him so he has everything he needs and then, because of Zoom, we build our schedules around him. Sometimes it is preparation for a speech, sometimes it is deepening on a certain issue. Almost every weekend he’s dealing with the NSC, doing his economic stuff,” Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon said.

She added: “Any idea that there’s a lot of disruption to this schedule is a fallacy.”

Mr. Biden has taken a different approach to the media than his predecessors, giving fewer interviews and formal press conferences. According to Mr. Knoller, he has done 20 interviews so far — a figure that does not include televised town halls — compared with 100 so far for Mr. Trump and 206 for Mr. Obama.

With Mr. Biden’s job approval rating hovering just below 40 percent, Republican consultant Alex Conant said there are missed opportunities if more interviews and press conferences aren’t done. He said: “Speeches are good for promoting your agenda, but interviews and press conferences are where you explain your agenda. The questions reporters ask are usually real, similar to the questions real voters ask.

Democratic strategist Mary Ann Marsh said voters don’t care if the president does formal interviews if they get information.

“Everyone had different ways of communicating. Obama loved the sit-down interviews,” she said. She said Mr. Biden had continued in the White House the way he had run his campaign: “disciplined, focused and very selective.”

When he gets away, Mr. Biden sometimes plays golf. But his 15 visits to the course as president are far fewer than Mr Trump’s (91) or Mr Obama’s (42). Mr. Bush scored 10 at this point.

And Mr. Biden has had official foreign trips, although he has so far taken fewer foreign trips than his predecessors, partly because of the Covid-19 travel restrictions that affected his first year in office. So far he has taken six trips and visited 13 countries. So far, Mr. Trump has made seven trips and visited 19 countries, Mr. Obama 13 trips to 22 countries and Mr. Bush nine trips to 20 countries.

Write to Catherine Lucey at catherine.lucey@wsj.com