What do you expect to see in a president’s schedule?
Considering the president is the leader of one of the largest and most powerful countries in the free world, you might expect wall-to-wall meetings and events, probably with an early start and late finish.
If those are your (admittedly reasonable) expectations, prepare for marked disappointment as you peruse what is reportedly President Joe Biden’s daily schedule.
Obtaining this information from unnamed “White House Insiders,” the Daily Mail goes through what is purportedly Biden’s day in excruciating detail, and, when compared with the schedules of his predecessors, it doesn’t make him look all that impressive.
For instance, the commander-in-chief apparently awakens at 7 a.m. after a full eight hours of sleep, assisted by his CPAP machine, whereas Donald Trump usually only got about five hours, and George Bush was often awake by 5:15 a.m.
Biden then goes to the gym for physical therapy and a “mobility workout,” designed to mitigate his stiff joints and propensity to stumble over nothing (which, based on recent evidence, doesn’t seem to be doing much).
At 10 a.m. he finally gets to the Oval Office, a full hour later than Barack Obama’s typical start time, and a good four hours later than Donald Trump started his day. Though Trump usually didn’t actually get to the Oval Office till about 11 a.m., he spent those five hours reading news reports, watching the news, speaking with friends and advisors, and tweeting.
As for any of Biden’s public events, they are most often kept between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when Biden is “at his sharpest.”
Chris Wipple, author of the book “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House,” tells the Daily Mail “They [his staff] basically just need to control the terms of engagement here. Biden needs to make sure that he’s rested before he goes out. The care and feeding of the president is really important. It’s the staff’s job to rein him in and make sure that he’s at his best.”
Is Biden fit for office?
And apparently, despite tightly controlling the president’s schedule to minimize the gaffes caused by his clearly advanced age, Biden is frequently late to scheduled events, sometimes by as much as an hour or more.
After a carefully controlled day, Biden puts a “lid” on it by 5 p.m., meaning, no public events are scheduled after that time, except for rare instances like his disastrous news conference on Feb. 8.
Again, compare that to previous presidents, who, though they often went to dinner around 6:30 or 7 p.m. as Biden does, would still make public appearances after the sun went down, if needed.
The article also makes sure to discuss other concessions to Biden’s age.
There are the note cards he once inadvertently showed to the cameras during a public address in 2022, the sneakers he wears with his suits when entering and exiting airplanes to mitigate stumbles and slips, and his marked reduction in public appearances, holding only 33 news conferences compared to Obama’s 66 and Trump’s 52 by this same point.
Much as Biden’s administration tries to spin his age as an asset, and insisting on numerous occasions that he’s “sharp, he’s engaged, he pushes us for information,” as Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre once infamously claimed.
When compared to what we’ve seen of Biden in his public appearances, knowing they are carefully scheduled and curated, this schedule does little to inspire confidence in the minds of the average American.
The White House, based on this schedule, seems more like a nursing home than the headquarters of the most powerful man on the planet, no matter how much the administration tries to prop Biden up.
The Biden campaign needs to let the man retire, instead of performing this charade that Sleepy Joe is mentally and physically fit for one of the most demanding jobs in the world.
