President Joe Biden criticized members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday for taking a two-week recess rather than continuing to work toward a foreign aid package solution.
Biden lashed out at Congress after a reporter asked a question about what steps the administration could take to get more ammunition to Ukraine, and his comments led to sarcasm and backlash from many people.
“No, but it’s about time they step up, don’t you think?” Biden said. “Instead of going on a two-week vacation. Two weeks, walking away. Two weeks? What are they thinking? My God, this is bizarre, and it’s just reinforcing, and it’s just reinforcing all the concern and, and almost, I won’t say panic, but real concern about the United States being a reliable ally. This is outrageous.”
The statement elicited a critical response on social media, with several posters on X commenting that Biden has spent around 40% of his presidency on vacation, a common statistic based on the number of days that Biden is not at the White House, according to fact-checkers.
Various posters published comments about Biden’s claim that Republicans are on vacation. A post on X from @TheSouthGAJohn reads, “Don’t throw stones when …. well you know the thing,” and posted a picture of a calendar that purports to show the days Biden was away from the White House.
According to the Republican National Committee Research published on the Gateway Pundit, Biden has “been on vacation” for about one-fifth of his presidency, a total of 442 days.
However, fact-checking those numbers is next to impossible since some of the “vacations” Biden has taken were not simply vacations. In many cases, Biden acted in his official capacity, signing declarations and holding press conferences on days the RNC claimed he was away. Biden has spent more than 260 days at his private residence in Delaware.
Democrats came to Biden’s defense, with DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd quickly releasing a statement echoing Biden’s claims against Republicans.
“House Republicans refuse to secure the border at home or support our allies abroad, but they are happy to take a two-week vacation as they block bipartisan solutions to deliver on the priorities that the American people care about — instead, doing the bidding of just one American: Donald Trump,” Floyd said.
Republicans have criticized Biden for being away from the White House at some of the most critical moments of his presidency, such as the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine and the Chinese spy balloon incident, according to reporting by Fox News.