Joe Biden Takes 9 Marine One Flights in 18 Days for Interrupted August Vacation as Afghanistan Falls
President Joe Biden struggled to maintain his vacation schedule in August, taking nine Marine One flights back and forth from vacation spots as his staff worked to get him back at the White House to lead the country.
The cost of Biden’s coming and going adds up as he continues splitting time between his home in Delaware, Washington, DC, and the presidential retreat at Camp David.
The president has taken nine trips aboard Marine One in the last 18 days.
President Joe Biden steps off Marine One as he returns to the White House on August 02, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Biden left the White House on Friday, July 30, for a weekend in Delaware and returned to Washington, DC, on August 2.
The following Friday, August 6th, he returned to Delaware before traveling back to Washington, DC, on August 10 to celebrate the successful effort by the Senate to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
On August 12, Biden returned to Delaware to resume his vacation before leaving for Camp David on August 13 as the crisis in Afghanistan escalated.
In this photo released by The White House, President Joe Biden meets virtually with his national security team and senior officials for a briefing on Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021, at Camp David, Md. (The White House via AP)
Biden remained at Camp David over the weekend as the Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital and seized power.
He returned to the White House from Camp David on August 16 for a few hours to deliver a speech before returning to the presidential retreat on Marine One that same night, landing at 9:05 p.m.
On Tuesday afternoon, the White House announced Biden would return to the White House but left open the possibility that he could go back on vacation in the coming days.
President Joe Biden boards Marine One as he leaves Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, en route to Camp David after addressing the nation from the White House about Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Here is the detailed list of Biden’s travel:
July 30: DC -> Camp David
Aug 2: Camp David -> Washington, DC
Aug 6: DC -> Delaware
Aug 10: Delaware -> to Washington, DC
Aug 12: Washington, DC -> Delaware
Aug 13: Delaware -> Camp David
Aug 16: Camp David -> Washington, DC
Aug 16: Washington, DC -> Camp David
Aug 17: Camp David -> Washington, DC
Flying Marine One, a VH-3D Sea King, costs $28,524 an hour according to the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard, citing the most recent Navy and Marine Corps budget documents.
The exact logistics of a presidential Marine One trip are hard to calculate as the Marine One flight crew sometimes flies multiple helicopters during presidential travel as decoys for security reasons.
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