President Joe Biden flew to northern Delaware Friday night and departed Sunday night. The weekend visit included a round of golf and the confirmation of his grandson.
The president, wearing a cap from the Beau Biden Foundation, hit the links at the Wilmington Country Club on Saturday. The foundation, formed in honor of the president’s late son and former Delware Attorney General, focuses on childrens issues.
Golf partners were Ron Olivere and Steve Ricchett. Olivere is the father of Beau Biden’s widow Hallie.
Biden is a member of the club located near his home in the Greenville area.
Pool reporters shouted out questions to Biden about the refugee situation.
It was the president’s first golf outing since taking office in January. In the past, Biden was known as one of the better golfers on the Washington, D.C. political scene.
On Sunday, Joe and Jill Biden attended the confirmation of his grandson Hunter Biden II at St. Joseph on the Brandywine II and visited a residence in Greenville.
The Cape Gazette reported Saturday that the First Lady had been staying at the family’s second home near Rehoboth Beach after undergoing a medical procedure that went well. It did not appear that the president had traveled to Rehoboth.
Ocean City, MD business owners have been concerned about being able to tow banner advertisng due to possible flight bans over beach areas should the Bidens stay at the residence during the summer.
The Cape Gazette earlier reported that a landing pad is available for the president at a nearby state park’s parking lot.
Joe Biden has been criticized for frequent weekend trips from the White House to Delaware from some motorists who get caught up in the delays, those who believe he should not travel during the pandemic, or some who see such travel as too costly.
The sentiments surface on Facebook pages of news sites and also include supporters chiming in. Biden supporters point to the frequent trips of his predecessor Donald Trump to his golf resort on the Florida coast as well as golfing in Washington, D.C. area and at his New Jersey country club.
Perhaps out of concern about traffic tie-ups that have been featured in the News Journal, Biden departed to Washington, D.C. Sunday night, arriving at the White House at around 9:30 p.m. via Marine One. He departed the White House early Friday night, arriving at New Castle Airport, with a small motorcade taking him to his residence.
The Delaware route to and from his home was recently in the news when the Coast Guard asked for a security designation for the Christina River. A crossing over the river is on the motorcade route.
The visits do have a modest economic impact on Wilmington, thanks to a small press corps that travels with the president. The visits continue to raise the profile of Wilmington as reporters use the city as a backdrop.
Recently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that travel is a low-risk activity for vaccinated Americans. In Delaware about 40 percent of the state’s population has received at least one shot.
The president’s Friday schedule included an in-person visit from the Prime Minister of Japan who asked Pfizer for more vaccine.
