Biden’s even shorter workday: How White House aides are limiting his schedule to ‘manage his stamina’… and avoid more blunders
President Joe Biden’s team is scheduling its meetings and events in an even tighter time frame in an effort to “manage his staying power.” Axios wrote this in a report on Friday.
The news organization has been following the 81-year-old president’s schedule since his July 21 decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
What reporters discovered is that all but one of the publicly scheduled calls and meetings with world leaders took place between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The president also has no public events scheduled in 43 of the past 75 days, which the publication attributes to his age restrictions and his unpopularity.
The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has campaigned with Biden only once, although they have made several joint appearances at the White House since the president left office.
President Joe Biden’s team is scheduling its meetings and events in an even tighter time frame in an effort to “manage his staying power,” Axios reported Friday
The 81-year-old president is aware that his poll numbers could limit his use during the pre-election campaign
Biden’s scheduling restrictions became part of the story in the weeks following his disastrous debate performance on June 27.
Aides said Biden was reliably alert between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and likely became fatigued — and relented — outside those hours.
Biden’s debate in Atlanta against former President Donald Trump was scheduled for 9 p.m. to accommodate viewers on the West Coast.
The president then tried to reassure a group of Democratic governors that he could handle the job by saying he would stop scheduling events after 8 p.m.
Axios reported that some aides and allies have said they believe the 81-year-old has deteriorated more rapidly in recent months under the stress of his job and his son Hunter’s legal troubles.
The White House disputed that reporting.
Besides being the country’s oldest president, Biden remains unpopular.
His approval rating rose just a few points after he withdrew from the race – despite polls generally showing Americans approved of the move – and he now stands at 40.6 percent, according to the FiveThirtyEight.com tracker.
That’s lower than Trump’s four years ago, prior to the Republican president’s loss of the White House and amid his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden’s unpopularity means it is not politically advantageous to have him replace Harris in swing states he previously won.
Even in Pennsylvania, his hometown, Biden is not currently campaigning for his vice president — although he is heading to Philadelphia next week to compete for Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey.
Axios reported that the president has admitted he is unpopular and will do whatever Harris’ team wants him to do to help her win — including staying away.
But his scheduling restrictions have also tainted plans that could be politically beneficial, with the publication reporting that White House aides wanted to land the University of Michigan’s championship-winning football team but the event couldn’t fit into Biden’s schedule.
The more popular first lady Jill Biden has also not made a solo campaign trip in support of Harris.
She was scheduled to do a fundraiser in Paris during her trip to the Olympics at the end of July, but that was canceled because Biden dropped out of the race.
When Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff led the delegation to the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, he stepped in and did the fundraising instead.
A person familiar with Dr. Biden told Axios that they ‘planning a campaign trip through battleground states during her fall break from teaching.”
“Details will be announced soon,” the source said.