Recent reports highlighting the instructions given to President Biden by his event staffers during public engagements have sparked further concern regarding his mental acuity. Following his recent abysmal debate performance against former President Donald Trump, many Democrats have sounded the alarm on the former President’s worrisome displays of deteriorating cognitive function, where many have aligned with long-standing conservative talking points that Biden is not fit to serve a second term.
According to a new report from Axios, Biden’s event staffers typically prepare a small document with large, easily readable text accompanied by photos for visual assistance. However, the instructions are so meticulous that they include a detailed path, explaining to the president how to reach the podium to begin the speaking engagement.
Throughout Biden’s presidency, conservatives have continually raised concerns about Biden’s behavior during his public appearances, which seem to indicate a decline in his physical and mental health. Many have pointed out that the president will often appear lost and confused when walking to and from the podium while simultaneously appearing stiff and rigid in his movements.
One of the documents obtained by the outlet, a copy of instructions that have been circulated as a template for Biden’s event planning, features two distinct pages with pictures showing the president how to “Walk to podium.” Another page features text that states “View from podium” and “View from audience,” along with pictures from the venue.
Particularly after the debate debacle, people have begun to wonder whether Biden’s staff are intentionally this detailed in their planning because of the president’s apparent age-related challenges or if it is typical for any commander-in-chief. “I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private residence, but they treated it like it was a NATO summit with his movements,” one person who staffed a recent Biden event said.
The staffer added, “It surprised me that a seasoned political pro like the president would need detailed verbal and visual instructions on how to enter and exit a room.” However, a White House official offered a different perspective to Axios, stating, “If individuals are not accustomed to seeing advance teams work, that would be a common reaction, whoever the principal is.”
Furthermore, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates defended the meticulous planning, stating, “High levels of detail and precision are critical to presidential advance work — regardless of who is president — and these are basic approaches that are used by any modern advance team, including the vice president’s office and agencies.” See the even instructions below:
Whether the high level of coordination for Biden’s movements is typical for any presidency or not doesn’t detract from the fallout that has ensued over his apparent struggles to appear cogent. Despite some calls from Democrats for Biden to step aside and allow a different candidate to challenge Trump later this year, The American Tribune reported on the president’s remarks that he is “not going anywhere.”
“You got me, man, I’m not going anywhere,” Biden said before continuing, “All right, all right. I’ll come back out when I let the Open the gate. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. One last thing, and I used to think when I was a senator, was there were always congestion on the highways. There’s no congestion anymore. We go on the highway, there’s no congestion. And so what? The way they get me to stop talking, they’ll say, we just shut down all the roads, Mr President, you’re going to lose all the votes if you don’t get in. But anyway, I’ll be back out.” Watch the clip below: