President Joe Biden’s advisers are concerned that his shuffling and solo walk to Marine One have made the 81-year-old look even older, so they are now joining him in the march from the House Blanca to the presidential helicopter.
Aides believe that walking between Biden and reporters’ cameras will draw less attention to Biden’s hesitant, stiff gait. axios reported.
Voters have expressed concern 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 physical and mental health necessary to serve as president for a second term” was a top voter concern.
President Joe Biden walks to the White House last week with senior members of his staff, including Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, Senior Advisor Mike Donilon and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini.
It was Biden who suggested that his aides accompany him as the president seeks to counter concerns.
“Weeks ago, the president mentioned to his aides that he would prefer a less formal approach and said they should 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, senior adviser Mike Donilon and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at his side as heads of Marine One.
In March, Biden’s five walks to and from Marine One at the White House were alone or with family members. As of April 16, Biden was accompanied 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 job.
But as voters continue to fret about Biden in a way 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 at the end of it.
Biden now makes repeated jokes about his age.
At an event in New York on Thursday, discussing the size of the microchips being made at the factory he was visiting, Biden joked: “It’s 4,000 times thinner than a single hair on your head and I have very fine hair.” in my head”. .’
He also likes to tell the crowd that he knows he “looks like he’s 40.”
His followers are buying the jokes, applauding loudly and cheering.
President Joe Biden walked alone to Marine One in March
President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn after landing on Marine One with senior members of his staff, including Bruce Reed and Karine Jean-Pierre.
There have been other changes.
The president has started wearing sneakers or hiking boots. He has lately been seen sporting the Hoka ‘Transport’ sneakers, which normally sell for $150.
He’s also been using the shorter ladder on Air Force One, which has fewer steps, and doing balance exercises.
The 81-year-old president has had several missteps in his nearly three years in office: He fell while boarding Air Force One, tripped on several stairs and suffered a dramatic fall at the Air Force Academy when he ran into a sand bag.
That smaller staircase, which reaches into the belly of the 747, is about half the size of the staircase used to access the top of the plane: 14 stairs versus 26.
Biden’s doctor admitted that the president walks stiffly.
In both reports on Biden’s physical exams, the president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, noted that the president has suffered a “stiff 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 sneakers
President Biden also uses the shortest staircase on Air Force One.
O’Connor recommended physiotherapy – specifically, “proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers” – and orthotics to help you walk.
Proprioception training focuses on the body’s sense of position in space and may involve balance exercises, tai chi, and yoga.
Biden, who works out most mornings in 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.