After surviving his coronavirus infection, President Joe Biden arrived in South Carolina on Wednesday to spend most of the following week on Kiawah Island, an oceanfront golf resort he had previously visited.
He was greeted by hundreds of people, primarily supporters, who lined the street with American flags and other signs, including some that were critical.
Kiawah’s Ocean Course was the site of Phil Mickelson’s 2021 victory in the PGA Championship and the U.S. team’s 1991 win over Europe in the Ryder Cup.
Biden has spent many weekends at his homes in the Delaware cities of Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach but has not been to Kiawah Island since taking office in January 2021.
As vice president, he was a regular visitor to the island south of Charleston.
Biden, joined by first lady Jill Biden and other family members, was staying in a home on the island.
Biden just survived a bout of COVID-19 and, as of Tuesday, August 9, still had a lingering cough.
Past presidents have held news conferences before leaving on their traditional August vacations, but Biden did not have one this time.
Before departing, he signed the PACT Act, which expands Veterans Administration healthcare and benefits veterans exposed to toxic substances in burn pits and elsewhere.
Biden left Washington after several recent legislative successes, including a bill he signed on Tuesday to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Those wins helped boost Biden’s public approval rating to 40%, its highest level since early June, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday.
Despite the victories, Democrats have debated whether Biden should seek re-election in 2024 or turn to a younger candidate to lead the party.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Biden planned to run for another four-year term in 2024.
Jean-Pierre told reporters Biden wasn’t given a heads-up ahead of an FBI raid on Monday at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.