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Where is Kiawah Island, the place where President Joe Biden vacations?

After recovering from a bout of covid-19 and flush from a series of legislative triumphs, Joe Biden is vacationing on Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

Update:
Joe Biden returns to Kiawah for first time as president
JOSHUA ROBERTSREUTERS

Joe Biden, his wife Jill and other family members are currently vacationing on Kiawah Island after the Democratic president recovered from a covid-19 infection that had kept him confined to the White House for a couple of weeks. The president is spending a week on Kiawah before embarking on a tour of the US designed to drum up support for the Democrats ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Biden to hit the midterm campaign trail

Biden plans to travel across the country over the next few weeks to tout a series of legislative wins on climate change, gun control and drug pricing in a bid to boost his party’s chances in the looming midterms, where the Democrats face an uphill battle to retain their narrow control of the House of Representatives and Senate, White House officials confirmed on Thursday. Biden’s recent successes helped boost his public approval rating to 40%, its highest level since early June, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday.

Before taking to the campaign trail ahead of 8 November midterms, the president and his family are spending time on Kiawah, where the Bidens are a familiar sight among the permanent population of around 1,700 people. Biden was a regular visitor to the island during his vice-presidency under Barack Obama but this is the first time he has visited as president, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath of the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan last year.

Where is Kiawah Island?

Kiawah Island is located in South Carolina, 25 miles southwest of Charleston. Its name derives from the original inhabitants of the area, the Kiawah, who belonged to the Cusabo group of American Indian tribes. The island changed hands many times during the colonization era and was largely unaffected by the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, although it was occupied by Union troops during the latter as part of the North’s Charleston campaign. Kiawah has been primarily used for logging and cattle farming down the ages but tourism development during the 1980s and 1990s has made it a popular destination for vacationers, not least among golfers, with several courses on the 11-square mile island: Kiawah’s Ocean Course was the site of Phil Mickelson’s 2021 victory in the PGA Championship and the US team’s 1991 win over Europe in the Ryder Cup.

Although Biden does not own a home on Kiawah, several famous athletes and politicians have properties there, including former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, NFL Hall of Famer head coach Joe Gibbs, Nikki Haley, a former Governor of South Carolina and former US Ambassador to the United Nations and Olympic goal medalist skater Tara Lipinsky.