Former President Joe Biden Arrives With Less Fanfare For Annual Thanksgiving Visit

Former President Joe Biden and several members of his family arrived at Nantucket Memorial Airport Saturday afternoon aboard a Cape Air flight from Boston, renewing their annual tradition of spending the Thanksgiving holiday on the island. 

A small motorcade - including black Chevy Suburbans and State Police cruisers - whisked him away to Rabbit Run Road and the waterfront compound of private equity billionaire David Rubenstein, where he has stayed during previous visits. 

Saturday’s arrival was far different from Biden’s Thanksgiving week entrances during the past four years as President, when he would touch down at the airport aboard Air Force One with a massive security entourage. Instead of arriving aboard the government's massive, modified Boeing 757 like they had done the past four years, the Bidens touched down on Nantucket on Saturday aboard a Cape Air Tecnam P2012 Traveller.

While his security entourage is expected to be far smaller this year, it will still likely be noticeable during the holiday week. A source at Nantucket Memorial Airport said the U.S. Secret Service had rented 12 cars for Biden’s visit.

But the tight security protocols that island residents and visitors experienced the last four years during the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the Friday after Thanksgiving - including security checkpoints, metal detectors, and barriers - are not expected to be in place on Main Street this year.

On Sunday, Biden was back at one of his favorite spots on the island: The Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant on Broad Street, where he took some time to take a photo with two Nantucket kids: Coya Young, 9, and Stella Davis, 11.

Biden has been coming to Nantucket for more than four decades as a U.S. Senator, as Vice President during the Obama administration, and for the past four years as President himself.

Last year’s trip was remarkably similar to the Bidens’ previous visits during his presidency, as the family stuck to a familiar routine. For the third year in a row, Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden visited the Nantucket Fire Department on Thanksgiving to meet with first responders working on the holiday. They dined at the Brotherhood of Thieves on Broad Street before shopping and attending the annual tree lighting ceremony on Main Street.