Biden calls White House ‘gilded cage’

US President Joe Biden has called his life in the White House as ‘a little like a gilded cage,’ Report informs referring to the Associated Press.

"I get up in the morning and look at Jill and say, ‘Where the hell are we?'" Biden joked, adding that he wasn’t used to household staff waiting on him.

"I find myself extremely self-conscious," Biden added, saying he was unaccustomed to someone ‘handing me my suitcoat.’

The White House features a spacious lawn that has an unimpeded view of the Washington and Lincoln monuments but is otherwise surrounded by high fencing and a small army of guards. Biden said it’s ‘totally different’ from the vice president’s residence, set on 80 acres (32 hectares) and offering ample room to swim, explore and exercise in greater privacy.

The former vice president said he’d been in the Oval Office 100 times or more over the years but had never been to the residential areas of the White House.

Even if the residence still feels new, Biden suggested he’s already settled deeply into the presidency’s work.

"Sometimes, because things are moving so fast, not because of the burden, it feels like four years," Biden said. "It’s not because of the burden, it’s because there’s so much happening that you’re focused on, you’re constantly focusing on one problem or opportunity."