Tipsheet

As His Presidency Crumbles, Joe Biden Cancels His Vacation to Delaware

Update: 

Following swift blowback over his decision to return to vacation while Americans remain trapped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, it was announced Friday that President Biden would not depart for his home in Wilmington, Delaware, Friday. 

It remains to be seen whether the President will answer questions from reporters following his remarks on the crisis in Afghanistan now that he's not immediately leaving town.

Original Post:

Joe Biden will address the nation Friday afternoon on "on the Evacuation of American Citizens and Their Families, SIV Applicants and Their Families, and Vulnerable Afghans" and then, as has become his modus operandi, will hop on Marine One and head out of town after an abbreviated workday in D.C. to resume his vacation.

This time, he's bound for home in Wilmington, Delaware, after spending much of the last week at Camp David, again leaving Pentagon and State Department officials behind to clean up the humiliating mess that has become the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Not only is Biden leaving others in his admin behind to deal with the consequences of his feckless exit from Afghanistan, but he's also leaving the White House while an apparently unknown number of Americans remain trapped behind the Taliban's checkpoints in Kabul. 

It is, yet again, a bad look for the leader of the country and commander in chief of the military to be dipping out for a long weekend while a crisis of his creation rages and, as usual, Vice President Kamala Harris is also nowhere to be found.

Earlier this week, Biden interrupted his retreat at Camp David to address the nation after being caught apparently flat-footed by the Taliban's quick advance to Kabul, but hopped right back on his chopper and resumed his vacation. Then he changed his schedule again to return to the White House in order to update the nation on his administration's handling of the Wuhan coronavirus, of all things. 

At this point in his chopper-hopping schedule, it appears he might just not care about what's going on anymore.

The rest of the Biden administration, despite remaining in Washington, isn't doing much better managing questions about the situation in Afghanistan. Yesterday, the State Department's Ned Price characterized the Taliban checkpoints surrounding Kabul's airport as "congestion" and the Pentagon refused to deny that the United States is buying fuel for its airlift from the Taliban.