President Joe Biden traveled with a helicopter squadron to his home state on Tuesday to film a top-secret campaign video.
The White House and Biden’s campaign released few details about the effort, on a day when the president was largely out of sight.
Biden spent several hours inside Alexis DuPont High School, around the corner from his home in Wilmington, to undertake the project. There were no signs of large crowds, but there were telltale signs of high-end video production.
“I’m just an extra,” one participant, a woman in a long dress, told DailyMail.com. When she was asked if she was carrying a sign, she said no. “I follow the rules,” she replied.
Staff members wearing black T-shirts had identification cards that said “crew,” in another clue to their actions.
Inside the school, near the auditorium where students present a production of Sweeney Todd, a sign told visitors that by entering “you consent to be photographed, filmed and/or otherwise recorded.”
President Joe Biden flew to Wilmington, Delaware, to film a campaign ad, though his campaign released few details about his activities Tuesday.
There came a day when Biden was almost out of sight.
The president brought his top advisors with him on the trip.
‘Your registration constitutes your consent to such photography, filming and/or recording and to any use, in any and all media in perpetuity, of your appearance, voice and name for any purpose, without compensation, in connection with the production for the Biden for President 2024 campaign and affiliated entities.’
If you do not agree to the terms, “please do not enter the area,” the large legal statement, printed on a sign, said.
(In the auditorium itself, stage props included posters from the production of Stephen Sondhein’s musical, advertising ‘Mrs. Lovett’s World Famous Meat Pies.’)
The Biden/Harris campaign was silent on the details.
“President Biden is participating in a campaign event,” the campaign told a group of reporters traveling with the president from Washington.
Even local television stations only reported that he would be at school in the city.
Biden appeared with Kamala Harris back in 2020 at the same school just one day after naming her his running mate. That occurred during his ‘basement’ campaign amid the coronavirus pandemic, when the party convention in Milwaukee was canceled and Biden often spoke in deserted rooms to reporters who sat in circles outlined by duct tape.
“I have no doubt that I chose the right person to join me as the next vice president of the United States,” Biden said at the time. “She’s smart, she’s tough, she’s experienced, she’s a proven fighter for the backbone of this country, the middle class and all those fighting to get into the middle class.”
Now, four years later, Biden, 81, is preparing for an angry rematch with Donald Trump, 71. Both men suffer high negative ratings and Trump spends weeks stuck in a Manhattan courtroom over his Stormy Daniels ‘hush’ money trial.
‘Stormy weather,’ Biden joked at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Biden has been campaigning, while Trump has been tied up. Trump has been crying out for debates in court. Biden has said he would be “happy” to participate, but it may be through television ads where the campaigns generate the starkest contrasts.
Biden had a big monetary lead over Trump at the end of March, raising more than $90 million with about $192 million in cash on hand. That compares to the $66 million Trump raised, with $93 million in cash, although Trump stepped up his fundraising with a big event at Mar-a-Lago.
Biden landed in Delaware at 2:30 p.m. and spent his time at the high school just minutes from his home, which he visits regularly. She brought senior advisors, including Anita Dunn and Mike Donilon, along for the trip.
