President Joe Biden's appearance is drawing some attention following a vacation spent in the Caribbean.
The president and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, were photographed on Tuesday while returning from a week-long vacation on St. Croix prior to boarding Air Force One to return to Washington, D.C. The pair sported noticeably red faces from the rays in the U.S. Virgin Islands, less than one year after the commander-in-chief had a skin lesion removed from his chest during a February 2023 physical.
The lesion was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer that the first lady was also diagnosed with about year one ago, which required her to undergo the common and low-risk Mohs procedure to remove two cancerous lesions.
The Bidens received some flak for their sunburned complexions from critics.
"Very smart Joe Biden sported a bright red sunburn as he returned from his vacation in St. Croix over the holiday season, just nine months after he had surgery to remove a cancerous skin lesion from his chest," wrote one X user. "I thought this guy's wife was a doctor."
"I can't understand how his wife, a doctor, couldn't exercise a little bit more caution and warn him about the dangers of prolonged sun exposure," another said.
Jill Biden has a doctorate in education and is not a medical doctor.
"New York makes it impossible for tanning salons to remain open under heavy regulations and laws. After all, Americans can't think for themselves," said another, referencing how New York state law denies anyone under age 18 from using an indoor tanning bed, booth or sunlamp. "But in one of the greatest shows of elite entitlement, Biden returns from vacation with a lobster red sunburn."
Biden, who is running for reelection this year, was diagnosed with multiple "localized, non-melanoma skin cancers" that were surgically removed before he took office, according to a November 2021 report by his physician. The report suggested that Biden's cancer may have been caused by "a good deal of time in the sun in his youth."
The president has mentioned how "oil slicks" customary in his youth in Delaware, purportedly so bad that car windshields were covered in gunk, may have been responsible for his lesions.
Others scrutinized the president for a luxurious vacation while people financially recover from the holidays. The Bidens reportedly spent the trip with their granddaughter, Natalie, and stayed at the beachfront villa of Democratic donors Bill and Connie Neville, according to The Daily Beast.
"While you are struggling to afford your groceries after buying Christmas gifts, the guy who caused this max pain is on a taxpayer funded (you paid for it) vacation to the Virgin Islands," said one X user.
When the president returned to the White House, he reportedly only answered one question from the press in relation to the surging migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border: "We gotta do something, they gotta give me the money I need to protect the border."
The border has long been a focus of attention especially among House Republicans, of which dozens led by Speaker Mike Johnson are expected to travel to Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday to talk to local and statewide officials to gain a better perspective.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
