US elections 2024: The White House staff prepares detailed documents for President Biden’s events, including large print and photos that outline his exact path to a podium. This practice has raised questions among some Democrats about whether focusing on minute details is intended to obscure the 81-year-old president’s limitations, Axios reported on Monday.
According to a staffer who helped with a Biden event, the documents are “short and simple” with large pictures of the event space and big text labels such as “View from podium” and “View from audience.” The documents even include separate pictures of the president’s walk to the podium, which has surprised some staffers who have previously worked with Biden.
According to one staffer, a simple fundraiser was arranged as if it were a NATO event. “I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private residence, but they treated it like it was a NATO summit with his movements,” said one of the staff members.
The White House defends this practice as standard procedure for presidential events, stating that “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.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ spokesperson Kirsten Allen told Axios: “These documents are standard logistical briefing materials and photos for any principal, including the vice president.
SCOOP: For his events, President Biden’s staffers prepare a short document with large print and photos that include his precise path to a podium, according to an event template the White House sends to staffers. https://t.co/Zw5252NmHH
— Axios (@axios) July 7, 2024
One of the staff said he was surprised at how a seasoned politician like the President could need meticulous instructions on how to enter and exit a room. “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 staffer told Axios.
This scrutiny comes after the US Presidential debate between former president Donald Trump and Joe Biden on June 27, where he struggled to string together sentences and had his mouth agape at times. The use of Teleprompters for even small events has also sparked worries among Democrats. Republicans have seized on videos of Biden appearing unsure of where to walk on and off stage to suggest he isn’t “mentally fit” for office.
Meanwhile, a White House official said that it is a common reaction if individuals are not accustomed to seeing how advanced teams work. Two former staff members told Axios that during Biden’s tenure as vice president, the preparations more often relied on site diagrams.
