THE NEW YORK TIMES: Joe Biden seeks elusive low profile as a turbulent summer winds to a close

As a tumultuous summer that hastened the end of President Joe Biden’s political career winds to a close, he has spent the past two weeks secluded in Southern California and at a home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that has become his refuge from the pressures of the presidency.

But presidents are never truly off duty, a reality that became clear when Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. The White House announced late that day that Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a dual Israeli American citizen, was among the dead, and Biden spoke to Goldberg-Polin’s parents Sunday morning.

“I am devastated and outraged,” Biden said in a statement Saturday offering his condolences. He added that he would continue to work “around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”

Biden appeared to be working behind the scenes throughout last week. He spoke with the prime minister of India on Aug. 26 and was spotted talking on the phone and reading papers on the beach. He briefly addressed reporters about the hostages after attending Mass on Saturday evening but otherwise tried to stay out of the public eye, emerging only on Wednesday and Saturday for afternoons on the beach.

Some beachgoers, thrilled to find themselves on the same stretch of sand as the president, offered waves and greetings, but Biden, wearing red patterned swim shorts, a black cap and his signature aviators, turned his blue lounge chair around to avoid the onlookers — and at least one television camera. His wife, Jill, joined him both days.

The locals in Rehoboth Beach are largely protective of a president who has become a hometown fixture and did not blame him for keeping a low profile.

“I felt he was very respectful,” said Steve Shrader, 77, who got responses to both of his shouted messages — the second of which encouraged the president to “hang in there!” Biden gave him a nod and a thumbs-up.

“I don’t support him,” Shrader added. “I’m a Republican.” But he was nonetheless charmed by his brush with the president, who he felt has been treated unfairly in recent weeks. “I said it to be gracious to him.”

The Bidens have vacationed in Rehoboth Beach for decades and bought their home in 2017, the fulfillment of a promise Biden made to his wife. The first lady once told Vogue that the beach house was exactly what she had wanted — a place where “everything’s easy.” Early in his presidency, Biden spent weekends on the beach while adjusting to the White House.

Biden was in Rehoboth Beach in July when he decided to drop out of the presidential contest and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Cloistered in a spare bedroom, battling a bout of COVID-19 and at odds with many of his own allies who had been pressuring him to step aside, he and two of his closest advisers drafted the announcement that he would end his reelection campaign.

Last month, after receiving an enthusiastic but bittersweet send-off at the Democratic National Convention, he flew to Southern California for the start of a two-week vacation. After a week on an 8,000-acre ranch in Santa Ynez belonging to Joe Kiani, a tech entrepreneur and major Democratic Party donor, Biden returned home to Rehoboth Beach and hunkered down.

Lori Kline, 58, runs Lori’s Oy Vey! Cafe in Rehoboth Beach and has sent several birthday cakes and countless sandwiches to the family over the years. She has run the sandwich shop for nearly 30 years and even added a menu item named after the couple: “The Bidens’…. POPULAR!!!” (The sandwich is half of each of their favourites: chicken salad and tuna.)

Seated in the quiet courtyard dining area under a blanket of trees, Kline said that although the president had not dropped by for a long time, staff members and Secret Service agents often picked up large orders there.

She recalled Anthony Bernal, the first lady’s closest adviser, who also joined the Bidens on the beach last week, coming by to pick up food shortly after Biden announced he would drop out.

“I talked to him for a long time and I just cried,” Kline said.

“I’m not saying it was wrong or right,” she added, “but just how he was treated as a person really upset me.”

Kline said she was surprised but glad that Biden was staying through the busy Labor Day weekend when crowds rush into town to enjoy the last of the summer. On Saturday, dozens of people stopped on streets, balconies and rooftops downtown to watch the president’s motorcade zip past, taking him to St. Edmond Catholic Church.

When Biden stepped from the church after Mass, a small crowd kept at bay by the Secret Service greeted him with mostly cheers and one person’s booing. One woman repeatedly called out, “We love you!” — forcing Biden to pause as he spoke with reporters about the war in Gaza.

Kline said she hoped Biden would return to his old haunts once his presidency ended and the frenzy around him had died down.

“I mean, he’ll still have security with him,” Kline said. “But I would hope that by next summer he’s walking around town, coming here for a sandwich and eating ice cream from Double Dippers.”

Joe Mack, who founded that sunny-yellow ice cream parlour with a beach mural on the walls, said the shop still keeps the president’s favourite chocolate chip ice cream in the first spot in its display, in hopes that Biden will return. The president has not dropped by since before the pandemic.

“If I still owned the place, I would put a huge sign in the window saying ‘Great job, Joe’ or something,” said Mack, 61. He sold Double Dippers to a younger couple last year but still pitches in to say hello to his summer regulars — every few minutes, a customer or friend juggling a cone of ice cream greeted Mack on Friday.

Mack said it was hard to let go of a lifetime spent building relationships and developing bonds tied to the shop. His advice for another Joe approaching retirement reflected the lessons he has learned: “Take a deep breath and relax. Get on the beach more.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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