News/Commentary

Latest leak to media shows Biden’s large print instructions: ‘Walk to podium’

July 8, 2024 | | Print Article

The post-debate world in which President Joe Biden now lives is entirely different from the world that existed beforehand in that concerns about his mental acuity are now openly discussed, and on that note, a report on the efforts made to guide the 81-year-old president at events is not helping his cause.

Administration officials are shrugging off as “standard logistical briefing materials” a report from Axios that Biden is provided “detailed verbal and visual instructions on how to enter and exit a room” ahead of public events, but it equates to more bad optics for the cognitively challenged president.

Focusing on minute details, White House staff “prepare a short document with large print and photos that include his precise path to a podium,” Axios reported.

One template — a copy of which was obtained by Axios — is short and simple, with one large picture of the event space on each page, accompanied with big text such as: “View from podium,” and “View from audience.”

In the five-page document, two pages are separate pictures of, “Walk to podium.”

There is certainly ample footage of Biden appearing lost on a stage, seemingly not knowing how to exit after delivering remarks and wandering around with a sheepish grin on his face.

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“I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private residence, but they treated it like it was a NATO summit with his movements,” a person who staffed a Biden event in the past 18 months was quoted as saying.

“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,” the source added.

A White House official told Axios: “If individuals are not accustomed to seeing advance teams work, that would be a common reaction, whoever the principal is.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios that such advance work is standard procedure.

“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,” Bates said.

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Social media, on the other hand, saw the reporting as just another sign that age has caught up to Joe Biden and that he is little more than an empty shell fronting for a mysterious cabal that’s really running the country.

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

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Tom Tillison
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