White House defends Biden voting in person after scrutiny over Secret Service escort

The White House has defended voting in person after President Joe Biden faced scrutiny for his decision to travel to Delaware to vote in the state’s primary elections.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked by a reporter why Mr Biden chose to travel to Delaware for the vote when he could’ve voted absentee or voted early when he previously visited his home state.

“I know there has been a lot of interest in this. So every American, as you know, has the sacred and constitutional right to vote. The president exercised that right along alongside other Delawareans last night. That's what you saw,” she said.

“The president has a very heavy schedule. He's the president of the United States. It worked out best for him to vote yesterday, to vote on Tuesday,” she added. “He thought it was important to exercise his constitutional right to vote ... and set an example by showing the importance of voting. He also had the opportunity to say hello to poll workers and thank them for their work and we know how under attack poll workers have been these past several years.”

She also said it’s “not unusual” for presidents to head home to vote in local elections.

“The president has been voting in Delaware for decades. And this is something that was important to do. He wasn't going to miss an opportunity to vote,” she said.

The comments come after extensive reporting on the short trip, which prompted criticism from some conservatives.

“Biden flew Air Force One to Delaware to vote in person yesterday for a state auditor race. He could have voted in person when he was there on Saturday but didn’t. He could have gotten an absentee ballot but didn’t. He chose to spend thousands of tax dollars instead this way,” Sean Spicer, the former Trump White House press secretary, tweeted.