Next month brings the 2024 presidential election and current President Joe Biden’s 82nd birthday. After dropping out of the race this summer, Biden has kept a relatively low profile – and it seems that there’s a narrow window for him to take calls.
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Axios reported this week that the president has scheduled just two public appearances before 11 a.m., none before 10 a.m. Just five have been scheduled after 5 p.m. since Biden dropped out of the race on July 21. Additionally, he’s only sat for two interviews since that day.
“With one exception, all publicly scheduled calls and meetings with other world leaders have been between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. – a sign of how Biden’s staff continues to narrow his work hours as they manage his stamina,” said the outlet.
In early July, before the president handed over the campaigning reins to Vice President Kamala Harris, Audacy covered a report that Biden told governors he planned to get more sleep and work fewer hours. That was after his shaky debate performance against the GOP candidate, former President Donald Trump, held at 9 p.m. on a June night. Biden told the Democratic governors that he planned to stop attending events after 8 p.m.
According to Axios, Biden’s team noted that, even before the debate, the president was most reliably on message between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, he was more likely to get fatigued or have difficulty speaking.
Some examples of recent Biden gaffes listed by Axios are: calling Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, “Secretary” Vance, saying “Welcome to Washington” when greeting world leaders in New York last week at the United Nations and appearing to yell and lose track of the program during an event in Wilmington, Del., before an aide introduced the prime minister of India.
Furthermore, his limited schedule has reportedly made it difficult for his staff to set up events. For example, Axios noted that White House aides wanted to bring the University of Michigan’s championship football team to the White House earlier this year. However, they were unable to get on the president’s schedule though he has met with championship teams in the past.
People familiar with the matter told the outlet that it seemed like a missed opportunity since Michigan is a key swing state. The school didn’t respond to request for comment.
“Some Biden aides and close allies believe he’s been aging more rapidly in recent months under the stress of the job and the legal troubles of his son, Hunter,” said Axios. However, the outlet noted that the White House disputes this.
Through much of August, the president was on vacation. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios that Biden’s public events are scheduled to reach as many people as possible, and that much of his work as president isn’t about those events.
Bates said Biden “works around the clock, long before and after these times, as the historic results he continues to achieve weekly for the American people demonstrate.”
While the White House said that Hurricane Helene delayed Biden’s plans to get on the campaign trail, Axios also reported that Biden has acknowledged to aides behind closed doors that he realizes he is unpopular and wants to avoid campaigning if it will help Harris, who is polling ahead of Trump. He currently has an approval rating of 40.6%, even lower than Trump’s during the same stage in the 2020 election.
“Harris’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment,” said Axios.
This month, Biden is headed to Germany, which will limit his domestic schedule. On Friday, he made the first appearance of his presidency in the White House Briefing Room, according to The Hill. During the appearance, Biden touted strong jobs data.
“The past two days, we’ve gotten some very good news about the American economy,” Biden said.
Though the election is next month, Biden is expected to remain in office until January 2025.
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