Biden’s aides are terrified the 81-year-old’s shuffle is making him look too old… so they now have him surrounded by protective staff

President Joe Biden’s aides are concerned that his shuffling gait and solo walk to Marine One may have made the 81-year-old look even older, so they are now accompanying him on the march from the White House to the presidential helicopter.

The aides believe that if they walk between Biden’s cameras and the journalists, they will draw less attention to Biden’s hesitant and stiff walk. Axios reported.

Voters have raised concerns about Biden’s age as he seeks a second term. A NBC poll earlier this month found that the idea that Biden “may not have the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term” was one of voters’ top concerns.

It was Biden who suggested that aides walk with him as the president tries to address concerns.

“Weeks ago, the president told aides he preferred a less formal approach and told them to just walk with him,” a White House aide told DailyMail.com

Since mid-April, he has had deputy chiefs of staff Annie Tomasini and Bruce Reed, top adviser Mike Donilon and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at his side as heads of Marine One.

In March, Biden took five walks to and from Marine One at the White House, alone or with family members. As of April 16, Biden was joined by staff or lawmakers nine out of 10 times he walked to and from Marine One, according to Axios’ count.

The White House has tried to turn questions about Biden’s age into an argument that he is the most experienced person to hold the office.

But because voters continue to worry about Biden in some ways while they don’t about Trump, who is 77, there has been a subtle shift in strategy. If Biden wins a second term, he would be 86 years old upon completion.

Biden now repeatedly jokes about his age.

Speaking at an event in New York on Thursday about the size of the microchips being made at the factory he visited, Biden joked: “It’s 4,000 times thinner than a single hair on your head and I have very thin hair on my head. .’

He also likes to tell the audience that he knows “he looks forty.”

His supporters eat up the jokes, clap loudly and cheer.

President Joe Biden walked solo towards Marine One in March

President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn after landing on Marine One with senior members of his staff, including Bruce Reed and Karine Jean-Pierre

Other shifts have taken place.

The president has taken to wearing sneakers or walking shoes. He’s been spotted lately wearing the Hoka “Transport” sneakers, which normally retail for $150.

He also uses the shorter staircase on Air Force One, which has fewer steps, and does balance exercises.

The president, 81, has stumbled several times in his nearly three years in office: he fell while boarding Air Force One, tripped over several flights of stairs and took a dramatic fall at the Air Force Academy when he came across a sandbag.

That smaller staircase – which goes into the belly of the 747 – is about half the size of the staircase used to access the upper part of the plane: 14 stairs versus 26.

Biden’s doctor has admitted that the president has a stiff step.

In both reports on Biden’s physical condition, the president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, noted that the president suffered from a “stiffened ambulatory gait.” Biden broke his foot during the 2020 presidential campaign and had to wear a boot.

Otherwise, Biden has been declared fit to hold office.

President Joe Biden arrives at the White House in his sneakers

President Biden also uses the shorter staircase on Air Force One

O’Connor recommended physiotherapy – specifically ‘proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers’ – and arch supports to assist with walking.

Proprioception training focuses on the sense of body positioning in space and may include balance exercises, tai chi and yoga.

Biden, who works out most mornings at the White House gym, has been doing balance exercises with Drew Contreras, who was a physical therapist in the Army and worked with Barack Obama when he was in the White House.