By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Finally over his coronavirus infection, President Joe Biden departs on Wednesday to spend most of the next week on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, an oceanfront golf resort that he has visited in the past.
Biden has spent many weekends at his homes in the Delaware cities of Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach but has not been to Kiawah Island since he took office in January 2020. He was a regular visitor to the island south of Charleston as vice president.
A White House official confirmed the trip but did not have specific dates on how long he would be there and was not able to say where Biden would be staying. The resort has a luxury hotel as well as a variety of rental homes.
Biden, 79, just got over a bout of COVID-19 and as of Tuesday still had a lingering cough. [L1N2ZL1U2]
Presidents in the past have held news conferences prior to leaving on their traditional August vacations but Biden did not have one on his schedule.
Before departing he planned to sign the PACT Act, which expands Veterans Administration healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances in burn pits and elsewhere.
Biden is departing Washington after a string of recent legislative successes, including a bill he signed on Tuesday aimed at boosting the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Those wins helped boost Biden’s public approval rating to 40%, its highest level since early June, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday. [L1N2ZL2EV]
Despite the victories, Democrats have been caught up in a debate on whether Biden should seek re-election in 2024 or turn to a younger candidate to lead the party going forward.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated on Tuesday that Biden planned to run for another four-year term in 2024.
Biden’s departure comes as a controversy rages over an FBI raid on Monday at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump. Jean-Pierre told reporters Biden was not given a heads-up about the raid by the Justice Department. [L1N2ZL1LJ]
(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
