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      In Delaware, Biden Indulges One of His Oldest Habits: Commuting

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      Still adjusting to the White House, the president sees Delaware as a place where he can be on display but still have his privacy protected.REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — Everyone here has a Biden story.Joe Mack, who owns the Double Dippers ice cream parlor, says President Biden likes to recite old Irish sayings when he comes in to grab a quart of chocolate chip. Susan Kehoe, the owner of Browseabout Books, says Mr. Biden and his dog Champ draw crowds of onlookers when they relax on one of the benches outside the store.Kathleen McGuiness, the Delaware state auditor, has a photograph on her phone of her standing next to an aviators-wearing Mr. Biden near Rehoboth Avenue, the town’s main drag.“They fit into the fabric,” Ms. McGuiness said of the president and his brood, who summered here for years before Mr. Biden bought a $2.7 million beach home in 2017 in the North Shores, a tony neighborhood one mile north of town.Before the 2020 election, the Bidens were often a fixture downtown, the former vice president often tangling up people in conversations that sometimes had no end in sight.“He wandered freely,” Mr. Mack said.As president, Mr. Biden has made it clear with public comments — he has compared life in the White House to living in a “gilded cage” — and the frequency of his travel that he is still most comfortable in Delaware, a place where he can be on display and protected all at once.The Bidens own a large home in a suburb of Wilmington, but Rehoboth, a laid-back beach town that sells French fries by the bucket and Biden-theme merchandise — including orange Gatorade-scented candles, crafted in homage to the president’s preferred drink — is one of his favorite havens. In the middle of tense negotiations with Republicans over an infrastructure package, mushrooming ransomware attacks against American companies, and plans for a coming trip to the Group of 7 summit in Europe, Mr. Biden departed for the beach to celebrate the 70th birthday of Jill Biden, the first lady.Mr. Biden’s inclination to go home to Delaware is longstanding: During his 36 years in the Senate, Mr. Biden made it a point to travel back to Wilmington to spend most evenings with his sons, a habit that began after his first wife, Neilia Biden, and young daughter, Naomi Biden, were killed in a car accident.At least for now, the Bidens have another reason: They do not yet fully trust the residence staff and security officials they did not directly hire, according to two people familiar with their thinking. (Many of the household employees are holdovers from the previous administration, which is common for new presidents.) The Bidens still have not installed a White House chief usher, who manages the residence. The Trumps’ chief usher, who was a former rooms manager of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, was fired on Inauguration Day.Eric Johnson, a native of Rehoboth, with a cutout likeness of Mr. Biden. The town is one of the president’s favorite havens.Stefani Reynolds for The New York TimesFor the Bidens, the White House has taken some adjustment. Delaware, on the other hand, takes almost none. Their home in Rehoboth was purchased after the president promised his wife that he would buy her a beach house with proceeds from a multimillion-dollar book deal signed after he left the vice presidency. (A plaque above the front door reads “A Promise Kept.”)“I wanted it to be the kind of place where you can come in in your wet bathing suit and bare feet and I can just take the broom and brush out the sand,” Dr. Biden told Vogue in 2020. “And that’s what this is. Everything’s easy.”On Thursday, a bike ride the couple took at the state park near their home stretched much longer than expected because the president kept stopping to talk to people, according to a person familiar with their activities. The first couple kept a low profile, though the townspeople were comparing notes about where the first couple might turn up.At DiFebo’s, an Italian restaurant that is a favorite of Mr. Biden’s, patrons hoped the president would drop in for his favorite dish, chicken Parmesan with red sauce. (The first lady usually orders the salmon.) At the Ice Cream Store, a parlor near the boardwalk, tubs of Biden’s Summer White House Cherry sat waiting for consumption.Not this visit. On a wooded lane in the neighborhood where Mr. Biden lives, law enforcement officials in black S.U.V.s restricted the flow of traffic. A Coast Guard ship in the ocean and the sight of burly Secret Service agents in summer wear were the only giveaways that the president was even in town.When Mr. Biden and Dr. Biden returned to the capital, it was a rare reversal of a typical week for them. Aside from the trip this week to Rehoboth — his first as president — Mr. Biden has spent nine weekends at his home in Wilmington, and five at Camp David, the Maryland presidential retreat, according to a review of his schedule. Mr. Biden has swapped the train for Air Force One, sometimes leaving Washington on short notice for even shorter trips: Last week, he flew back to Wilmington for the afternoon to attend the funeral of a longtime aide.Mr. Biden arrived in Rehoboth Beach via helicopter this week. He bought a home in Rehoboth after he promised Ms. Biden that he would purchase a beach house with proceeds from a multimillion-dollar book deal signed after he left the vice presidency.Stefani Reynolds for The New York TimesNaturally, the fact that Mr. Biden enjoys coming back to Delaware — even in the middle of a presidential workweek — did not seem to surprise residents here.“I think he knows his way around Washington and he’s pretty familiar with what he needs to do and where he needs to be,” Ms. McGuiness, who has known the Bidens for years — her sister used to babysit for the family — said in an interview. “Making a quick travel to the Wilmington home or Rehoboth home makes sense for someone who puts family as a priority.”Mr. Biden’s trip this week to Rehoboth was his first as president, and he has spent nine weekends at his home in Wilmington, and five at Camp David, according to a review of his schedule. Stefani Reynolds for The New York TimesThe first lady often spends less time in Washington during the week than Mr. Biden does. Before his travel weekends, Dr. Biden sometimes heads separately to one of the family homes in Delaware, or meets up with extended family at Camp David. She has also traveled alone to Rehoboth. Ms. Kehoe, the owner of Browseabout Books, said the Bidens were generally treated as part of the scenery.“We try to treat them as if they were any other customer,” Ms. Kehoe said. “Which is a good thing for us.”Convention suggests that presidents should stay close to Washington and be judicious with taxpayer-funded travel, but that concept was tested to its limit with President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump spent over 417 days at one of his properties, a travel habit that blurred the line between his family business and presidential duties. Mr. Trump enjoyed the perks of being president, including the staff, the ceremonies, the planes and the presidential limo. Many of those perks are long familiar to Mr. Biden — he had a similar apparatus around him for eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president — but he has said the trappings that come with the presidency have made him uncomfortable.“I don’t know about you all, but I was raised in the way that you didn’t look for anybody to wait on you,” Mr. Biden said of life in the White House during a town-hall-style interview with CNN in February. “I find myself extremely self-conscious.”A Secret Service agent and a Delaware State Police officer on the beach. During his 36 years in the Senate, Mr. Biden made it a point to travel back to Wilmington to spend most evenings with his sons.Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times More

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      Beneath Joe Biden’s Folksy Demeanor, a Short Fuse and an Obsession With Details

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      As Mr. Biden settles into the office he has chased for more than three decades, aides say he demands hours of debate from scores of policy experts.WASHINGTON — The commander in chief was taking his time, as usual.It was late March, and President Biden was under increasing pressure to penalize President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for election interference and the biggest cyberattack ever on American government and industry. “I have to do it relatively soon,” he said to Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser. More

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      Who Designed Jill Biden’s Inauguration Outfit?

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWho Designed Jill Biden’s Inauguration Outfit?A brief guide to how Alexandra O’Neill’s young label Markarian landed in a rare spotlight.Dr. Jill Biden arrives for the inauguration ceremony at the Capitol on Wednesday.Credit…Amr Alfiky/The New York TimesJan. 20, 2021, 4:13 p.m. ETJust like any first lady stepping into the White House before her, Dr. Jill Biden’s Inauguration Day outfit was bound to draw attention.Guesses were made about which American designer she would choose: Brandon Maxwell or Christian Siriano, whose dresses she had chosen for the Democratic National Convention? Tory Burch? Oscar de la Renta?Few — or none, perhaps — would have predicted that Dr. Biden would walk out into the cold Washington morning on Wednesday in a matching blue coat and dress by Markarian, a small New York City brand whose typical aesthetic signatures include feather trims and full-body sequins. Here’s why:Alexandra O’Neill working on Dr. Biden’s dress.A sketch of the full ensemble proposed by the designer.What is Markarian?Founded in 2017 by Alexandra O’Neill, Markarian is best known for V.I.P. party dresses. With statement sleeves and slim silhouettes, the brand has outfitted celebrities like Laura Dern, Kerry Washington, Millie Bobby Brown and Anna Kendrick on red carpets and talk-show couches.But much of Markarian’s business is designing custom pieces for special events and weddings. The line is carried at Bergdorf Goodman and on Moda Operandi, among other retailers. Most ready-to-wear dresses are priced between $1,000 and $4,000.Ms. O’Neill, who has said she produces everything in New York City, often describes her work as romantic and ethereal. Before starting Markarian, she founded the label Porter Grey, with her sister Kristen, while she was still in college. That brand also had famous fans, like Blake Lively and Jessica Biel.Why does it matter?It’s tradition for first ladies to wear American designers throughout the inaugural celebrations. Melania Trump wore Ralph Lauren during her husband’s swearing-in ceremony; Michelle Obama wore Thom Browne and, four years earlier, Isabel Toledo. These outfits are seen by millions, dissected by the fashion press and become part of history.In choosing Markarian, a relatively unknown-outside-fashion brand, for this high exposure moment, Dr. Biden is drawing an unrivaled amount of attention to a young designer.It’s not the first time this has happened. In 2009, when Mrs. Obama wore an inaugural gown from Jason Wu (to his surprise), it was a career-making moment for the then emerging designer. That was during the Great Recession; 12 years later, the country is again facing financial crisis, and it is again a precarious time to be an independent designer.In a phone interview on Wednesday (conducted at the very moment the Bidens walked onto the inaugural platform), an “excited and humbled” Ms. O’Neill, 34, said that Dr. Biden “recognizes the impact that a choice like this can have on an emerging designer.”The neckline was embellished with Swarovski pearls and crystals.How was Markarian selected?In December, Ms. O’Neill was approached by a stylist for Dr. Biden, who asked for concepts and sketches for “something classic and something feminine for Dr. Biden, but something that was special and appropriate for this momentous day,” Ms. O’Neill said. “They were really open to any ideas that we had.”But she also knew that Dr. Biden’s team was commissioning looks from multiple designers. She didn’t know her ensemble — mostly wool tweed, but accented and embellished with velvet, chiffon, crystals and pearls — had been selected until this morning, when Dr. Biden was seen leaving her home for the traditional inauguration morning church service.What about that shade of blue?Blue is not a surprising choice for the wife of a Democratic president. But there are hundreds of shades of blue. Mrs. Trump’s matching set on Inauguration Day in 2013, for example, was a very different kind of blue — a Jacqueline Kennedy-channeling powder blueWhen Ms. O’Neill came across the base fabric for this dress, a rich (and sparkling) teal tweed, she thought it stood for “trust and loyalty.”“That was important for us, to get that information across,” she said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Major Technology Companies Join List of Biden Inaugural Donors

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential TransitionliveLatest UpdatesMoves to ImpeachHow impeachment Might WorkBiden Focuses on CrisesHow Mob Stormed CapitolAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyMajor Technology Companies Join List of Biden Inaugural DonorsThe inaugural committee did not disclose how much it has raised so far for the event, which is to be scaled down because of the pandemic.Preparation for the inauguration at the Capitol this week. Details on the inauguration schedule still have not been released, and planning for the event has also been affected by the storming of the Capitol.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York TimesEric Lipton and Jan. 9, 2021, 10:16 p.m. ETMajor technology companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as telecommunications giants like Comcast and Verizon, are among the nearly 1,000 people and groups that have donated at least $200 to the committee organizing President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s scaled-back inauguration celebration this month.The donor list, released Saturday evening by the committee, was filled mostly with individual donors, including major givers to Democrats such as Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons; Richard C. Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California; and Donald Sussman, a hedge fund mogul.The inaugural committee did not list any of the amounts that these 959 donors had given as of Dec. 31, the end of the period covered in the voluntary disclosure.The actual donor amounts may not be known until 90 days after the inauguration when the committee will be required under law to disclose the names and amounts of all donations over $200. There are no legal limitations on how much a donor can give to an inaugural committee, but Mr. Biden’s committee voluntarily limited contributions by individuals to $500,000 and by corporations to $1 million.Many of the major corporations that traditionally make large contributions to inauguration events are missing. Some have explained that they are not going to donate given that the event will largely be virtual because of the pandemic. Others have said they are focusing their donations on helping people affected by economic downturn caused by coronavirus.But the technology and telecommunications industries, a major source of cash for Mr. Biden’s campaign and the groups supporting it, are well represented on the list, with donations also coming from Qualcomm, a semiconductor and software company based in California, and Charter Communications, a cable company.Google is one of several companies that have donated to the committee organizing President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s scaled-back inauguration celebration this month.Credit…Laura Morton for The New York TimesGoogle was included on the list because it provided online security protections without charge to the inaugural committee, said José Castañeda, a Google spokesman.Other corporate donations came from Enterprise Holdings political action committee, which is associated with the company that owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands.Health care companies also are prominent on the list, including Anthem Inc., the health insurance giant, MedPoint Management, which provides management services to physicians groups, and Masimo Corporation, a maker of electronic patient monitoring devices.The Presidential TransitionLatest UpdatesUpdated Jan. 8, 2021, 10:32 p.m. ETMore national security officials resign from a White House in turmoil.Josh Hawley faces blowback for role in spurious challenge of election results.Read the draft of a leading article of impeachment against Trump.Boeing Company, the aerospace and military contracting giant, is also listed as a donor.The Biden team prohibited donations from the oil, gas and coal industries and registered lobbyists.Labor unions including American Federation of Teachers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the United Food and Commercial Workers union made contributions.There was also a sprinkling of celebrities on the list — as was the case with Mr. Biden’s presidential campaign — including Barbra Streisand.A spokesman for the inauguration declined to comment when asked Saturday how much in total Mr. Biden’s committee had raised.The fund-raising effort is likely to pale in comparison to the record $107 million raised four years ago by Mr. Trump for his inauguration, with donations of as much as $5 million from major supporters like Sheldon G. Adelson, a casino executive and major Republican donor.Mr. Biden has urged his supporters not to travel to Washington for the inauguration on Jan. 20, because outside of the swearing-in ceremony, there will be few large-scale in-person events.Details on the inauguration schedule still have not been released, and planning for the event has also been affected by the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday by Trump supporters in an outbreak of violence that stirred concerns about security around the swearing-in ceremony.Organizers have said the inaugural festivities will include a “virtual concert” with some big-name performers, a ceremony to remember people killed by the coronavirus and a virtual event similar to the elaborate roll-call held at the Democratic National Committee last year, which included short videos from all 57 states and territories.But the inauguration committee has still tried to pull in large donations by offering an array of unusual perks. Corporations that contribute $1 million and individuals that contribute $500,000 will receive an invitation to a virtual event with Mr. Biden and Jill Biden, the future first lady, along with a photo, as well as a similar event with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.The fund-raising effort is continuing, with the committee sending a solicitation to donors on Saturday night shortly after it released the preliminary list of donors.“Our team is creating a new style of inauguration that integrates traditional elements with creative programming and local events across the country — which is why we’re reaching out today,” reads the fund-raising email, which was targeted to recipients in different parts of the country.The committee, according to the email, wants “to make sure we have strong representation across the country as part of our inauguration grass-roots donors program.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Jill Biden Is a Teacher. And She’s Not About to Change That.

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