During a leisurely bike ride on Thursday morning, Vice President Biden broke his usual routine of avoiding the media. In the wake of his predecessor’s arraignment on federal charges relating to the aftermath of the 2020 election, a CNN photographer named Jay McMichael reached out to him and asked whether he would be watching the proceedings.
The President was asked, “Mr. President, will you be following the arraignment today, sir?” As Biden rode his bike down a route near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, McMichael stopped him and asked.
The 80-year-old Biden said, “No,” and continued on his bicycle.
The president skirted questions about a variety of issues as he departed his vacation home earlier, including former president Donald Trump’s arrest.
As in, “Will you talk to us on your way back, Mr. President?” Biden was asked this by Katie Rogers of the New York Times.
While riding by, Biden said, “Probably not,” leading Rogers to respond, “Think about it.”
The president’s weeklong getaway to the Delaware seaside village came to a close on Thursday, and he will now return to his Wilmington residence for the weekend.
Vice President Biden has kept a low profile throughout his vacation, with public appearances limited to his daily bike rides and random trips to the beach. While the news of Trump’s indictment was breaking on Tuesday, Vice President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden went out to dinner and a screening of “Oppenheimer.”
The White House did issue a statement from Biden on Thursday morning about the situation in Niger, despite his scant media involvement. President Obama issued a statement in which he called for the release of Mohamed Bazoum and his family from home imprisonment at the hands of a gang of mutinous troops.
Trump, 77, was indicted on four federal offenses on Tuesday, all of which stem from his efforts to reverse Biden’s election victory. He is already facing 40 charges for illegally hoarding confidential national security papers at Mar-a-Lago, and Manhattan prosecutors have brought an additional 34 counts against him for allegedly fabricating company records to hide hush-money payments.