Biden in Delaware after flight aboard Air Force One

President Joe Biden flew home to Delaware on Friday to spend the weekend with his wife and family, even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans forgo travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden, who has a home outside Wilmington, Delaware, has made getting the pandemic under control the central focus of the early weeks of his presidency. His team has repeatedly emphasized that the president will model safe behavior for the nation..

Any time the president travels, an entourage of support and security personnel and media travel with him.

The White House officials said the trip by Biden, his first aboard Air Force One as president, is far less risky than the sort of commercial travel that Americans are being urged to avoid..

Biden also has made few appearances outside the White House complex during the first weeks of his presidency - all for official business or to attend church.

The trip for Biden marks his first time on Air Force One in more than 20 years. He flew aboard Air Force One as a senator with President Bill Clinton in 2000.

For his roughly 25-minute flight to New Castle Air National Guard Base, Biden flew on the smaller C-32 model from the Air Force’s fleet.

Biden told reporters shortly after landing that in Delaware that the plane was much like the one he flew as vice president, “only it’s much nicer.”

’It’s a great honor," said Biden, who said he spent the short flight reading a newspaper. “But I didn’t think about it, to tell you the truth.”

Earlier, the president laid out his case Friday for passing $1.9 trillion in coronavirus relief. However, even as he opened the door to proceeding without Republicans, he conceded that a key element of his plan — hiking the minimum wage to $15 per hour —  would likely be left out of the final bill.

During an interview at the White House, he said he didn't see any reason that former President Donald Trump should receive intelligence briefings, a custom for former presidents.

(Image Credit: AP)