Joe Biden has been photographed lounging on the beach with his family, as he continues his retreat from public view.
The US president arrived at his Delaware beach house on Thursday evening, waving at reporters and reclining on sun loungers with his wife Jill and their granddaughter Naomi.
Secret Service agents had cleared a large area for the family, though Mr Biden did speak to some children.
C-Span public TV broadcast footage of Mr Biden resting on a beach-chair in sunglasses and a short-sleeved shirt.
Mr Biden’s beach day has been criticised on social media as it coincided with the White House National Security Council releasing a statement following an attack by the Israel Defense Force on a school compound in Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Gaza following a strike by the Israel Defense Forces on a compound that included a school,” the statement said. “We are in touch with our Israeli counterparts, who have said they targeted senior Hamas officials, and we are asking for further details.”
It added that the attack “underscores the urgency of a ceasefire and hostage deal, which we continue to work tirelessly to achieve”.
Social media users complained that Mr Biden has made few public appearances in recent weeks, with one saying “meanwhile, we’re on the brink of WW3”.
The US president has heavily curtailed his official schedule, which aides framed as an effort to cede the limelight to Kamala Harris.
However, some Democrats have suggested his withdrawal from the public eye may stem from a feeling of being unwanted.
“It’s clear the party did not want Biden as the nominee. It’s very hard to see the Harris team wanting him out there on the trail,” one source told Politico.
Anita Dunn, one of Mr Biden’s most trusted advisers, did not dispute claims he remained “very angry” at Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and other senior Democrats who pressured him to withdraw.
Ms Dunn insisted it was not the president’s poor debate performance, but “unremitting negative, horrible attacks on Joe Biden” from “his own party and from the press” that altered the race.
“But he is 1,000 percent all-in for Kamala Harris,” Ms Dunn told Politico.
Schedule cut to briefings and phone calls
Mr Biden has made very few public appearances since he ended his re-election bid on July 21, spending less than a fortnight at the White House since the announcement.
His weekends have been spent at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, and at home in Delaware. He is understood to be planning an extended holiday away from Washington later this month.
Aside from a handful of public appearances, Mr Biden’s public schedule has included little beyond a few phone calls to world leaders and briefings from his staff.
Karine Jean-Pierre, Mr Biden’s spokeswoman, acknowledged he was still “trying to figure out what the next six months are going to look like” as a confirmed one-term president. “Just give us a beat,” she said at a press briefing.
Some Harris aides believe the 81-year-old president should be deployed only sparingly on the campaign trail, for instance to court older voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan, critical swing states he carried in 2020.
Mr Biden has yet to campaign for Ms Harris but the pair are scheduled next week to make their first joint appearance since she replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Some Biden aides have suggested he can be most useful to Ms Harris by allowing her to distance herself from a president the overwhelming majority of Americans said they did not want to run in 2024.
She has focused her campaign message on issues such as abortion while avoiding the Biden administration’s record on the economy or immigration. “We’re not going back,” has become a frequent rallying cry.
Focus now more on policy goals, say insiders
Donald Trump mocked Mr Biden’s low profile at a recent rally, saying: “What’s he doing now? What’s he doing?”
Mr Biden’s team is now focused on recalibrating its plans to dedicate time that would have been spent on the campaign trail to securing more policy goals from the White House.
Insiders suggested Mr Biden would continue to appear less frequently and deliver fewer speeches, with a focus on solely substantive announcements intended to burnish his legacy.
They noted his major achievement last week in securing the release of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, and several other Americans detained in Russia.
Pete Giangreco, a veteran of Democratic presidential campaigns, said the prisoner exchange was a major “coup” for Mr Biden.
The strategist noted the deal had been “long and complicated” and Mr Biden is also focused on “trying to kickstart the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.
“He really doesn’t need to have a press conference every day,” he told The Telegraph.
“His highest and best use is being the best president he can be,” he said, describing him as a “walking contrast to Trump”.
