Joe Biden sports ‘presidential swag’ after long weekend playing Mario Kart with his grandchildren

‘Secret service made an exception and let him drive himself!’ jokes Naomi Biden

Joe Biden sports his presidential ‘swag’ as he leaves Maryland to return to the White House (AFP via Getty Images)

Joe Biden returned to the White House on Monday after spending his first President’s Day weekend as president on a break with his family at Camp David.

Social media posts by his granddaughter Naomi Biden showed the president playing Mario Kart against the 27-year-old on a full arcade machine complete with driver’s seat and steering wheel.

The president appears to have chosen to play as Luigi, and Ms Biden said that while he was “still rusty” he emerged victorious “(barely)”.

Ms Biden joked in the caption on an Instagram video post that “Secret service made an exception and let him drive himself!!!”

Follow Biden live: US-Mexico border crisis ‘war zone’ unfolding as Trump drives past supporters in Florida

Before leaving the White House for the presidential retreat on Friday, Mr Biden told reporters he and his family were going to just “hang out” and “do what they always do” on the long weekend.

The Biden family haven’t “always” had access to Camp David, of course, the sprawling getaway for the commander in chief spread across 200 acres of Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland.

First occupied by president Franklin D Roosevelt, the presidential cabin at Camp David has “several” bedrooms, according to the White House website, as well as a small office, a number of fireplaces, a heated swimming pool, hot tub, and a single golf hole with multiple tees. 

The retreat as a whole has been used to host many foreign dignitaries over the years, and is complete with an archery range, bowling alley, cinema and fitness suite.

Joe and Jill Biden look on at Biden’s granddaughter Naomi and her boyfriend Peter Neal with Naomi’s dog Charlie on their return to Washington (REUTERS)

Naomi Biden, a Columbia law student, brought her boyfriend Peter Neal and her dog, Charlie, along on the family getaway. 

And they didn’t let the 78-year-old president leave without gifting him an outfit fit for the occasion - an aviator jacket with the Air Force One logo, and a Camp David baseball cap.

“We bought him some swag since it’s Presidents’ Day weekend and he’s ‘literally’ President,” Ms Biden wrote on Twitter. A reverse image showed the cap had “POP” embroidered on the back – “just to make sure the job title doesn’t get to his head”, according to his granddaughter.

Mr Biden arrived back at the White House at 3.40pm local time on Monday afternoon. While his schedule for Tuesday has yet to be issued, he is expected to face a long week amid pressure over his policies on the US’s southern border, and will address the G7 on Friday over the fight against coronavirus and the need for global vaccine distribution.