Even White House staffers admit that President Biden’s advanced age is affecting his workload.
Days after the 80-year-old formally announced he would run for re-election in 2024, Axios reported Friday that aides say it’s tough to schedule “public or private events” with Biden at certain times of day — namely weekends, mornings, and evenings.
In fact, the report adds, most of Biden’s public events happen between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
That works out to a 30-hour workweek — even less than the official 35-hour workweek in France.
So far this year, Biden has held just four events before 10 in the morning, 12 events after 6 p.m. — mainly state dinners, receptions, and Democratic fundraisers — and has spent a dozen more weekends without any public events.
“President Biden does nothing at 9 a.m.,” former White House press secretary-turned-MSNBC host Jen Psaki said on the air last month while waiting for Biden to deliver early-morning remarks on the Silicon Valley Bank failure. “He is a night owl.”
The president himself insisted last year that he does keep somewhat regular hours, telling actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett on their “Smartless” podcast that he rises at “7, 7:15” and spends about 45 minutes in the 8 a.m. hour working out.
White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon offered a terse response to Axios’ report, telling the outlet: “False.”
The report added that while Biden’s close advisers insist he’s mentally sharp and other officials say the president has great stamina “for his age,” some aides have compared Biden to an aging monarch protected by courtiers at all costs.
Biden’s light schedule has been a subject of increasing focus, especially among conservatives, as the 2024 presidential election campaign kicks into gear.
“Media saying thing that’s been clear to everyone for … years now,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck reacted to Axios’ report.
“Biden’s schedule today includes one public event at 2:30p, which is to present a trophy to Air Force’s football team at the White House for winning the Commander-in-Chief award last year,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha noted Friday. “He then attends a DNC reception at 6:45p, making this an exceptionally busy day for POTUS.”
“Our 80-year-old president has a six-hour window for public events, reading off a teleprompter, taking few questions, five days a week,” tweeted National Review political correspondent Jim Geraghty. “And the plan is for him to keep doing this for the next five and a half years.”
Biden gave a convoluted answer when asked about his age at a joint press conference with South Korea’s president Wednesday: “I can’t even say — I guess, how old I am, I can’t even say the number. It doesn’t — it doesn’t register with me. And — but the only thing I can say is that one of the things that people are going to find out, they’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether or not I have it or don’t have it.
“I respect them taking a hard look at it. I’d take a hard look at as well. I took a hard look at it before I decided to run. And I feel good.”
