Fox News reported on August 25 that Biden declared that ending the Gaza war was his top priority before the end of his term, but as the situation in the Middle East became increasingly turbulent, he took frequent vacations. According to a White House briefing, Biden has taken two vacations since he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21, spending his weekends either at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, or at the presidential resort at Camp David.

Biden and his family reportedly vacationed for a week at the California estate of Democratic billionaire donor Joe Kiani after speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last Monday. He will vacation again this week, but this time at his home in Delaware. He has no public events scheduled this week. In a preview of this week's events provided to the media by White House staff, it was written: "The President and the First Lady will remain in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware." Biden announced before the weeks of vacation and long weekend that ending the war in Gaza and ensuring the return of hostages held by Hamas would be his top priorities in the final months of his term. He made this statement on July 22, just one day after he withdrew from the campaign.

Ceasefire talks have made little progress since late July. The conflict seems more likely to expand than to peter out. Biden's critics have begun to raise alarms about the White House's lack of clear direction. Former President Trump has also criticized Biden for his lack of leadership. Meanwhile, the White House has said only that Biden is "closely monitoring" the situation.

"Who negotiates for us in the Middle East? Bombs everywhere!" Trump wrote on social media, elaborating on the topic in a statement late Sunday.

"We don't even have a president. We have an incompetent fascist running, and our president isn't even here," Trump said. "He went on vacation to California because they basically kicked him out of the party. And then he came home, and I was like, oh, is he going to the White House? No, he's off to Delaware again. And at the same time Russia is making nuclear threats over there. We're going to have a president. We're going to have to have a president who's actually respected."