President Trump has a new title: the hardest-working man in Washington.
This year he’s passing over the traditional presidential summer vacation to focus on securing peace between Ukraine and Russia.
Typically, presidents head out of Washington around Labor Day to grab rest and relaxation away from the stress and daily grind of the White House. However, Mr. Trump canceled his plans to spend the final two weeks in August at his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort.
Instead, Mr. Trump will leave Saturday for Bedminster, then return on Labor Day for a three-day getaway. He hasn’t taken an extended vacation or traveled to his home in Florida since May. Instead, the president has made five weekend trips to Bedminster this summer.
“This is normally the time when the president goes on vacation, but not this president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “There [were] discussions about him working from Bedminster for a couple of weeks, but he decided against it.”
She added, “He’s a man on a mission. He wants to move, get things done quickly. He wants to strike when the iron is hot.”
Since returning to office in January, Mr. Trump has spent 46 days away from Washington at his resort in Bedminster or his Mar-a-Lago home. They’ve largely been two-day weekend trips and account for about 20% of his presidency.
During his first term, Mr. Trump spent about 26% of his presidency away from the office, 381 of his 1,461 days in office, according to presidential records.
It’s a stunning contrast from former President Joseph R. Biden, who took more time off than any other president in modern history. Mr. Biden spent 577 of his 1,463 days in office — roughly 40% of his presidency — on vacation, according to data compiled by the Republican National Committee.
That total includes a stunning number of vacation days at the end of his term. After being pressured to drop out of the presidential election in July 2024, Mr. Biden didn’t show up to work on 43 of the next 70 days, the RNC found.
Mr. Biden’s time on vacation surpassed the previous record for presidential vacations, held by President George W. Bush, who spent 37% of his presidency — 543 of 1,461 days — away from the White House.
Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama vacationed for just 11% of their two-term presidencies, records show. President Jimmy Carter has the record for the fewest vacations in office, taking just 79 days, or 5%, of his single term on vacation.
