White House reveals who's running country with Joe Biden, 81, on second week of vacation

The White House on Monday revealed who is running the country with President Joe Biden on his second week of vacation.

'You know better than that,' National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby scolded the reporter who asked who was running the country.

'The president is on vacation, but you can never unplug and from a job like that. Nor does he try to,' Kirby said 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.  

Biden, 81, is at his beach home in Rehoboth, Delaware, after spending a week at a private 8,000 acre ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif. He is scheduled to return to the White House after Labor Day weekend.

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Washington D.C. with nothing on her public schedule until Wednesday, when she heads to Georgia for a two-day bus trip to campaign in the state. 

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.

He and first lady Jill Biden arrived at their multi-million dollar beach house in Rehoboth on Sunday evening. 

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.

This Monday, Biden remained out of sight as his predecessor — and possible successor — Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to the 13 Americans killed three years ago in a bombing outside the Kabul airport during the Afghanistan evacuation.

The former president laid a series of wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then paid a private visit to section 60, the area of the cemetery where those killed in Afghanistan are buried.

He was joined by family members of some of the U.S. soldiers who were killed in a bombing at Abbey Gate. He was also was accompanied by two Marines who were injured in attack: Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart, who was paralyzed in the attack and now uses a wheelchair, and Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who lost his right arm and left leg.

The visit also enabled him to tie his rival Kamala Harris to what he calls 'the most embarrassing moment in our history.' Trump has repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden was in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Monday, starting the second week of his summer vacation.

The visit also allowed Trump to counter reports he doesn't respect veterans and has previously referred to slain World War II soldiers as suckers and losers, reports Trump has denied. 

The former president laid three wreaths at the tomb, two honoring Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Sgt. Nicole Gee - two Marines killed in the bombing - and another wreath dedicated to all 13 service members who were killed in the attack. 

He also took flowers to the grave of SSG Ryan Knauss - a Marine killed in the attack - and spoke to Knauss' parents who couldn't be there, according to his campaign.

Spotted with Trump at the event was Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman who is now helping Trump with his debate prep.  

Monday marks three years since the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 American service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

'This is the third anniversary of the BOTCHED Afghanistan withdrawal, the most EMBARRASSING moment in the history of our Country,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 

'Gross Incompetence – 13 DEAD American soldiers, hundreds of people wounded and dead, AMERICANS and BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND.' 

Some of the relatives of those killed appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention last month, saying Biden had never publicly named their loved ones.

After Biden ended his re-election bid, Trump has endeavored to tie Harris to some of the administration's most-criticized moments. He's noted Harris has said she was the last person in the room before Biden made the decision on Afghanistan. 

The Biden administration conducted a two-year internal review of the evacuation and found that U.S. officials should have started the evacuation earlier, but placed extensive blame on Trump, Biden's predecessor in the Oval Office. 

Biden's team cited an agreement Trump made with the Taliban to pull forces from Afghanistan. 

The White House took a swipe at Trump's visit to the cemetery, seeming to indicate it was merely for the television cameras.

'There are many ways that we as a nation and our leaders can observe the third anniversary of Abby Gate, and Mr. Trump was invited by at least one, I think maybe several of the families, to lay a wreath at Arlington and that is certainly a way to recognize the sacrifice and the loss. But it was a personal invitation by fans,' White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

'Another way is to continue to work, maybe not with a lot of fanfare, maybe not with a lot of public attention, maybe not with TV cameras, but to work' every day to 'make sure that the families of those of the fallen and of those who were injured and wounded, not just at Abbey Gate, but over the course of the 20 some odd years that we were in Afghanistan, had the support that they need,' he added. 

Kirby noted the Biden's long association with military, including the first lady's work for Joining Forces.  

The White House released separate statements Monday by Harris and Biden on the attack.

Harris said she mourns the 13 U.S. service members who were killed. 

'My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart breaks for their pain and their loss,' she said.

She said she honors and remembers all Americans who served in Afghanistan.

'As I have said, President Biden made the courageous and right decision to end America's longest war. Over the past three years, our Administration has demonstrated we can still eliminate terrorists, including the leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS, without troops deployed into combat zones,' she said. 

'I will never hesitate to take whatever action necessary to counter terrorist threats and protect the American people.'

Biden also paid tribute to the fallen.

'Three years ago, an ISIS suicide bomber launched an attack of deliberate evil at Abbey Gate outside of Kabul Airport—killing 13 American service members and more than 100 innocent Afghans. Today, and every day, we honor our fallen,' he said. 

'These 13 Americans - and the many more that were wounded - were patriots in the highest sense,' Biden said in the statement.