For Biden, the White House is 'a Monday-through-Friday kind of place' - CNNPolitics - 0 views
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Beginning in 1973, when he was a United States Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden had a ritual: nearly every evening he would hop a train back to Wilmington after his work day on Capitol Hill, spending most nights and weekends at the place he considered home, 100 miles from Washington. Doing so earned him the nickname "Amtrak Joe," and in 2011, the Wilmington depot was renamed the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station.
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Since taking office four months ago, the President has spent more weekends away from the White House than he has stayed there, almost three times as many. Counting this Memorial Day weekend, Biden has been in Wilmington nine weekends and passed five weekends at the presidential retreat, Camp David
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"He thinks of (the White House) more like a Monday-through-Friday kind of place," said one of several people familiar with Biden's thinking who spoke to CNN for this story and were granted anonymity in order to preserve relationships.
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"Joe Biden has always been the guy who goes home to Delaware," said another person who has worked with the President. "The White House isn't going to change that."
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Biden's instinct -- sometimes last-minute, say those familiar with his schedule -- is to get away from it for a weekly breather.
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Tension is building between White House staff tasked with delivering the news of a weekend away and the logistical apparatus that allows it, said another person familiar with operations.
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"President Biden is deeply proud of his roots and his family and it has been a staple of his time in public life to never lose touch with either," White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement to CNN.
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And as all Americans can agree, it's important for leaders to avoid becoming ensconced in Washington, DC."
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It's not wholly unusual for presidents to feel the urge to escape the confines of the White House campus, and many before Biden have taken hearty advantage of doing so.
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Visiting retreats or second homes, most of which were personal touchpoints for a president, doesn't make a commander in chief immune to the demands of the job. "He's always working, no matter where he is," said one administration official of Biden's habits, noting he spends a good deal of time on the weekend prepping for the week ahead, or thinking on larger ideological conundrums. "He is by no means 'checked out' just because he isn't in the Oval (Office.)"
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Another person familiar with the mood of the Biden residence noted the first couple is well-liked by the White House staff, but their frequent absences make it difficult to get to know them.
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The Bidens have not overtly personalized the residence yet, instead making small changes and adding special touches, said one person familiar. (A recent Biden addition is the building of a green lattice fence around the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on the east side of the building, erected to create a daytime dog-run for the first couple's two German Shepherds Champ and Major.)
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speculates it's possible Biden might still think of the White House as the spot where his former boss, Obama, lived and worked. "It's sort of like moving into your ex's place," said the source.
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"You know, I don't know what I ever expected it to be," Biden said during the town hall about actually residing in the White House. "I said when I was running, I wanted to be President not to live in the White House but to be able to make the decisions about the future of the country. And so living in the White House, as you've heard other presidents who have been extremely flattered to live there, has -- it's a little like a gilded cage in terms of being able to walk outside and do things."