WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – On President Joe Biden’s weekend to-do list? Moving.
Biden flew aboard Air Force One for the first time as president on Friday, but not on a trip to sell his $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid plan or to confer with a U.S. ally.
He simply went home to Delaware to help his wife, Jill, find out what other “things” they need in their “other home”, namely the White House.
“It’s a great honor,” said Biden of flying aboard Air Force One as president. “But I didn’t think about it, to tell you the truth. I was reading the newspaper. “
He said he went to his home near Wilmington for the weekend “to see my grandchildren and go out with Jill to pick up the rest of the things we have to move from our home to the other home.” Hunter, Biden’s son, also turned 51 on Thursday.
Biden flew even when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Americans avoid traveling because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The White House said the trip would be much less risky for Biden, who is at greater risk because he is 78, than the type of commercial travel people are being urged to suspend.
“Any president of the United States, Democrat or Republican, obviously uses Air Force One, a private plane, when traveling,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, hours before Biden’s inaugural flight.
Biden told reporters, shortly after landing in Delaware, that the plane was very similar to the one that flew as vice president for eight years, “only that it is much nicer.”
Biden made pandemic control the central focus of his presidency’s early work. His team has repeatedly emphasized that it will be a model of safe behavior for the nation.
Whenever the president travels, an entourage of support, security and media staff accompanies him.
The orientation of the CDC notes that “traveling increases your chance of advertising and obtaining COVID-19” and that the agency “recommends that you do not travel at this time”. But he says people who need to travel must first complete their COVID-19 vaccines, if they are eligible, and wait two weeks after receiving the second dose before embarking on the trip.
Biden received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine more than three weeks ago.
Biden and his aides have been meticulous about how they conduct their business in trying to reduce the chances of infection among White House officials. The use of masks is mandatory throughout the White House complex, much of the administration is working remotely and the duration and size of the meetings are limited.
Biden also made few appearances outside the White House complex during the first few weeks of his presidency – all for official business or to attend church.
Biden’s trip, which spent decades in the Senate and eight years as vice president, marked his first time in Air Force One in more than 20 years. He flew to South America with President Bill Clinton in 2000, when Clinton announced $ 1.3 billion in aid to help Colombia fight drug traffickers.
For security reasons, the vice president travels separately from the president and depends on Air Force Two’s most modest aircraft for trips outside the city.
For the 25-minute flight from Andrews Joint Base in Maryland to New Castle National Guard Air Force Base, Biden flew in the smaller C-32 model of the Air Force fleet.
It is a specially configured version of the intercontinental Boeing 757-200 airliner, compared to the iconic VC-25A, which is a modified Boeing 747.
Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald Trump, did not hide his affection for Air Force One, perhaps the biggest advantage of the job.
But Trump was not a fan of the Kennedy-era blue and white color scheme known around the world. Trump considered the design to be dated, too discreet and insufficiently patriotic, and announced plans in 2019 to revise the color scheme using the colors of the American flag. He kept a model of his planned renovation on display in the Oval Office.
Psaki said a new Air Force One painting is not on Biden’s priority list.
“I can confirm to you here that the president didn’t spend a minute thinking about Air Force One’s color scheme,” she said in the conference room.
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Madhani reported from Chicago. Miller reported from Washington.