Biden is in charge of country on second straight vacation, White House insists

The White House insisted again Monday that President Biden remains in charge of the country despite being on a second straight week of vacation.

During a teleconference Monday, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby recognized the three-year-anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, Abbey Gate suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans outside Kabul Airport.

Biden, who is at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for the week, notably remained out of public view on the anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack. Last week, Biden was vacationing in California, including when the Israeli military said they launched a preemptive strike destroying thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, essentially deterring a major attack by the terrorist group intended for central Israel.

A journalist noted Biden's public absence in a question to Kirby on Monday.

"The President’s public comportment and the paucity of events on his public schedule, as on this very day, have fostered a public perception that Mr. Biden is increasingly disengaged from the presidency," Newsmax's James Rosen said on the teleconference. "Time and again, the question I am hearing from members of the general public, and which I put to you here, Admiral, is: Who is running the country?"

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"Is he a ceremonial figure in some sense at this point?" he added.

"James, now you know better than that. I mean, my goodness, he talked to Prime Minister Modi today," Kirby said of Biden. "He had calls with leaders in the region and in Europe, President Zelenskyy, last week. He monitored in real time what was going