Scoop: How Biden's event staffers guide him behind the scenes
Documents prepared by White House staff to aid President Biden at an event which were sent to other staff as a template for how to prepare for future events. Screenshots: Obtained by Axios
For his events, President Biden's staffers prepare a short document with large print and photos that include his precise path to a podium, according to an event template the White House sends to staffers.
Why it matters: Since the June 27 debate, some Democrats who've attended and helped set up Biden events have wondered whether his team's focus on minute details were to obscure the 81-year-old president's limitations — rather than just a reflection of a meticulous staff.
- "I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private residence, but they treated it like it was a NATO summit with his movements," according to a person who staffed a Biden event in the past 18 months.
Driving the news: Before a presidential event, the White House sends event staffers a document to emulate when preparing their own materials for the president.
- One template — a copy of which was obtained by Axios — is short and simple, with one large picture of the event space on each page, accompanied big text in large font such as: "View from podium," and "View from audience."
- In the five-page document, two pages are separate pictures of, "Walk to podium."
The staffer who helped with the fundraiser told Axios: "It surprised me that a seasoned political pro like the president would need detailed verbal and visual instructions on how to enter and exit a room."
- A White House official told Axios: "If individuals are not accustomed to seeing advance teams work, that would be a common reaction, whoever the principal is."
- Two former aides who worked with Biden during his vice presidency said that as vice president his preparation documents were different, and more often relied on site diagrams.
Reality check: Organizing presidential events — often called "advance work" — is intensive and detail-focused for every commander-in-chief.
- Presidential movements are planned down to every footstep in ways that the movements of a vice president often are not.
- Advance documents also have evolved since Biden was vice president, including the increased use of smartphone photographs.
Other prominent principals in the Biden administration use similar methods for plotting his movements, sources told Axios.
- White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios that "high levels of detail and precision are critical to presidential advance work — regardless of who is president — and these are basic approaches that are used by any modern advance team, including the vice president's office and agencies."
- Vice President Kamala Harris' spokesperson Kirsten Allen added: "These documents are standard logistical briefing materials and photos for any principal, including the vice president."
Zoom out: Many of Biden's seemingly ordinary practices are receiving fresh scrutiny after his debate performance when he, at times, couldn't string together sentences and often had his mouth agape.
- Presidents frequently use Teleprompters, but Biden's use of them for even small events such as fundraisers has sparked worries among Democrats that his debate performance was not a one-off.
Between the lines: The event template's focus on the walk to a podium is notable, given recent attacks by Biden's political opponents.
- Republicans have tried to highlight videos in which Biden sometimes appears unsure of where to walk on and off stage as a way to suggest he isn't mentally fit for office.
