Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Gait keepers: Why Biden isn’t walking alone across the White House lawn anymore; UPDATED

 

UPDATE: WATCH: Handlers Quickly Swarm As 'Operation Hide Joe Biden' Kicks It Up a Notch – RedState

. . ."This tactic, of course, is not just about trying to prevent voters from seeing Biden's age and frailty issues. It's also part and parcel of Team Biden's notorious press avoidance strategy, which has been in place since the start of the pandemic when, as a candidate for president, Biden would be tucked safely away in his basement where his staffers could tightly control and manage the goings on, and cut "interviews" short when Biden went off script.

"As some of my colleagues here have correctly observed, though, the "swarm" strategy has really only magnified the problems for Biden, especially considering the fact that the people walking alongside him are younger and in better physical shape in comparison to the POTUS." . . . 

Gait keepers: Why Biden isn’t walking alone across the White House lawn anymore: Washington Examiner   "President Joe Biden has introduced an entourage to walk with him across the White House lawn that has helped distract from his awkward gait, according to a report.

"The president's team has grown concerned that videos of Biden awkwardly shuffling across the White House South Lawn to Marine One may highlight his age and health, according to several Biden aides speaking with Axios. By walking with a team, the other people both distract and cover up some angles of the cameras.

"The change in routine was reportedly Biden's idea. The president told aides he wanted to have the opportunity to be less formal with them and invited them to walk with him on his way to Marine One." 

"Since April 16, he has been accompanied by aides or lawmakers 9 out of 10 times that he has made the walk.

"While the aides have tended to accompany Biden more often than not in recent weeks, it's not clear whether the president is intentionally using them as a shield. Biden will often walk out ahead of the aides, giving cameras and journalists an unobstructed view of his cadence." . . .


Aides know they better cover Biden or else: Biden angrily yells, curses at aides in private (axios.com)  "In public, President Biden likes to whisper to make a point. In private, he's prone to yelling.

  • Behind closed doors, Biden has such a quick-trigger temper that some aides try to avoid meeting alone with him. Some take a colleague, almost as a shield against a solo blast.
  • The president's admonitions include: "G***mit, how the f**k don't you know this?!," "Don't f**king bullsh*t me!" and "Get the f**k out of here!" — according to current and former Biden aides who have witnessed and been on the receiving end of such outbursts.

"Why it matters: The private eruptions paint a more complicated picture of Biden as a manager and president than his carefully cultivated image as a kindly uncle who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream.

  • Some Biden aides think the president would be better off occasionally displaying his temper in public as a way to assuage voter concerns that the 80-year-old president is disengaged and too old for the office." . . .
Does he give them this look?
"The president and his allies can’t just tell voters that he can handle the job. They have to show it."

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