President Joe Biden has apparently been changing up his walking routine out to Marine One and is now being escorted by aides, to help take away from concerns about his age, according to Axios.
Several of the president’s aides have expressed concerns that when Biden walks alone to Marine One on the South Lawn it draws attention to his age, as the 81-year-old has been scrutinized for his “halting and stiff gait,” the sources told Axios. To minimize “videos of Biden walking and shuffling alone,” the president has frequently been accompanied by aides who suggested the change after Biden expressed he wanted a less formal solution, a White House official told Axios.
Biden walked to and from Marine One and the White House five times during March and was either solo or had family members by his side, Axios reported. The president has been accompanied by aides or other lawmakers nine of the 10 times he has made the walk as of April 16, Axios counted.
Following the adjustment to the president’s routine, advisers told Axios that they expect aides to continue to accompany the president as they think that the shots of Biden walking have been better for his image.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the White House with senior members of his staff, including Bruce Reed, assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff; Mike Donilon, senior advisor; and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, after landing on the South Lawn in Marine One on April 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Following a special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents, concerns about Biden’s age were elevated. Hur, though deciding not to pursue charges against Biden, argued that a potential jury might see Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden has committed several gaffes that have recently drawn attention to his fitness for office. While visiting a Pennsylvania war memorial, Biden spoke of his uncle, Second Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., claiming that he was shot down during World War II over “New Guinea” and never heard from or found again because “there were a lot of cannibals” in the area. The president’s story, however, doesn’t corroborate the military’s official record of the incident.
The president also appeared to read a stage direction off the teleprompter when giving a speech at North America’s Building Trade Union National Legislative Conference.
“Folks, imagine what we could do next,” Biden said while discussing his economic accomplishments,
“Four more years … Pause,” he continued before the crowd began to take the cue and chant.
