The New York Times published a stunning report on President Biden’s age and how it is becoming an “uncomfortable issue” for the White House and the Democratic Party. The headline of Saturday’s report said the 79-year-old Biden is “testing the limits of age and the presidency,” first highlighting how his upcoming trip to the Middle East was initially attached to his recent trip to Europe with an unnamed official. calling it “crazy” if the president had taken a 10-day trip abroad, these aides tell the Times that there were “political and diplomatic” reasons behind splitting the trip in two. “But the reality is that managing the program of the oldest president in American history presents unique challenges,” wrote The Times’ chief White House correspondent, Peter Baker. “And as Mr. Biden insists he plans to run for a second term, his age is becoming an increasingly uncomfortable issue for him, his team and his party.” BIDEN HOLDS NOTES THAT READ ‘ENTER ROOSEVELT HALL,’ ‘TAKE YOUR SEAT’ President Joe Biden condemned the threats against public officials, including judges. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Baker recapped from Biden’s European trip how he needed guidance from another world leader to face the cameras for a photo shoot and how outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded to a question from the president, who didn’t hear a reporter shouting a question about Ukraine. “At times, Mr. Biden has kept a busy schedule. On the day he flew to Madrid for a NATO summit, he met with many leaders and ended with a dinner hosted by King Felipe VI and Queen Letitia of Spain. However , another day, he skipped evening festivities with other leaders and his public schedule ended with a 3:30 p.m. event,” Baker wrote. “But aides said he was busy and stayed up working until late every night of the no-view trip – as they say they expect him next week as he hits the road again in Israel and Saudi Arabia.” Baker wrote that Biden’s age has become “a sensitive issue in the West Wing,” noting that he is already a year older than President Reagan was when he completed his second term. He claimed that “more than a dozen current and former senior officials and advisers have uniformly reported that Mr. Biden has remained intellectually engaged, asking smart questions in meetings, grilling aides on points of contention, calling them late at night, picking on that weak spot on Page 14 from a memo and rewriting speeches like his statement on abortion on Friday until the last minute.” BIDEN WHITE HOUSE AVOIDS OVAL OFFICE FOR PRESS EVENTS IN PART BECAUSE NO TELEPHONE IS AVAILABLE: REPORT However, the Times acknowledged that Biden’s energy level “isn’t what it used to be” and that some aides are “quietly keeping an eye on him.” “He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he’ll trip over a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they’re holding their breath to see if he’ll make it to the end without a slip,” Baker said. “Although White House officials insist they are not making special arrangements like the Reagan team did, they are privately trying to keep as much of Mr. Biden’s weekends in Delaware as possible. Generally it is five or five and a half days – the President a week, if and there are times when he is called upon at any hour of the day. He stays out of public view at night and has taken part in less than half the press conferences or interviews since recent predecessors.” The White House was angered by the media attention Biden received from his bike ride in June despite regular training, and that his “fans” still question his ability to lead for another six years if he is re-elected in 2024. U.S. President Joe Biden dismounts from his bicycle as he approaches well-wishers after a bike ride at Gordon’s Pond State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on June 18, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) David Gergen, a former White House adviser to four presidents who turned 80 in May, told The Times he thought it was “inappropriate” for him to seek the presidency past the age of 80, insisting he would not trust himself to lead any agency after “you” aren’t as sharp as you once were.” However, “longevity expert” S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago said there is “no evidence that Biden’s age should matter” but said the “right question” is whether the president’s mental capacity will reached 86, the age he was at the end of a second term, telling The Times, “Things go wrong as we get older and the risks increase as we get older.” WHITE HOUSE CALLED FOR COVER-UP OF BIDEN TELEPROBBER blunder: ‘PAID TO LIE FOR LIFE’ After citing a June poll showing 64% of voters say Biden is too old to be president, Baker wrote that Biden’s public appearances “feed into that perception.” “His speeches can be flat and lackluster. He sometimes loses his train of thought, struggles to name names, or appears momentarily confused. More than once he has promoted Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her ‘President Harris,’” said Baker to readers. “Mr. Biden, who overcame a childhood stutter, stumbles over words like ‘kleptocracy.’ He has said Iranian when he meant Ukrainian and has repeatedly called Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, “John,” mistaking him for the late Republican senator from Virginia.” He then pointed to various times when the White House had to walk away from Biden’s comments, such as when he promised the US would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan and when he said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power.” . U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Royal Castle, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland, March 26, 2022. Slawomir Kaminski /Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS (Reuters) But according to longtime Biden adviser Mike Donilon, he hasn’t seen much change, telling the Times: “Coming back from long trips, when the staff is gone, he’ll want to spend four hours planning how we’re going to hit the ground running.” based on internal politics, when all the much younger staff want to do is sleep.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP White House deputy chief of staff Jennifer O’Malley Dillon similarly said the president “continually drives additions to his schedule, whether it’s phone calls from the new CEO or late-night meetings with members. When asked for a response, a White House spokesman referred to the remarks made by Donilon and Dillon without commenting further. Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
