Biden hits the beach with Jill on the ninth day of his two-week vacation... days after White House was asked who is running the country

President Joe Biden appeared in public for the first time in three days, joining his wife Jill Biden on the beach near their vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware.

The first lady’s two sisters and her senior adviser Anthony Bernal joined them on the hot, sunny day. 

The group sat under two blue umbrellas. Some passers-by waved at them as they walked the beach.

It's day nine of the president's two-week vacation. He often sits on the beach when he's in Rehoboth. 

He had a blue bag with him and was seen removing a file folder stacked with papers.  

Biden arrived in Rehoboth Beach on Sunday after spending a week at an 8,000-acre ranch in Santa Ynez, California. 

He’ll be in Rehoboth until Monday, when he joins Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh for a campaign event.

He's preparing to get back into the swing of things. 

He'll hit the road next week, heading to Wisconsin on Thursday to talk about his administration's push to lower costs for Americans.

Wisconsin in a critical battleground state for Democrats in the 2024 election. Biden is no longer on the ballot but can talk about what he and Kamala Harris have done to help the country.

Democrats consider Wisconsin a must-win state.

Meanwhile, the White House has defended Biden's two-week break, saying he is in charge and running the country from his vacation locations. 

'The president is on vacation, but you can never unplug and from a job like that. Nor does he try to,' National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday in a zoom briefing with reporters. 

'He's very much in command,' he noted of Biden. 

He pointed out Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday as proof the president is working.  

The White House has long argued Biden can perform the duties of president where ever he goes. 

When the president travels, a staff member on the National Security Council travels with him to keep him briefed on foreign affairs and a staffer in the chief of staff's office is with him to keep him updated on domestic matters.

Biden is on his 114th visit to Delaware spanning all or part of 328 days, according to journalist Mark Knoeller who tracks presidential travel. 

That is much more when compared to Donald Trump at a similar point in office: he spent 51 visits and 240 days at either of his estates in Mar-a-Lago, Fla., or Bedminster, N.J.

It's the second week in a row of downtime for the Bidens.

They jetted off to Santa Ynez, California, on Monday night after Biden addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The couple - along with their children and grandchildren - stayed at a California ranch owned by Democratic donor billionaire Joe Kiani.

The property sits about three hours north of Los Angeles in Santa Barbara wine country.

Kiani has been a major donor to Biden's campaigns and a friend to the family. Hunter Biden paid a visit to the $50 million vineyard property last year.

Dubbed the 'Kiani Preserve,' the 8,000 acres has its own private vineyard, donkeys and a cattle herd. 

The vineyard on the property produces bottles of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, among other wines. The president doesn't drink but the first lady is known to enjoy a glass or two of wine.

Biden exited the presidential race on July 21 after his terrible debate performance against Donald Trump, which led to concerns about his mental abilities. 

'Over the next six months, I'll be focused on doing my job as president,' Biden said in his July 24 Oval Office address.