(Headline USA) President Joe Biden’s staffers have to prepare him for events with meticulous details about how to enter and exit, where to stand, and when to speak, according to a new report by Axios.
Though Biden’s dependence on cheat-sheet notecards at press briefings and donor meetings has been well-documented, new pictures of notes Biden has received from his aides reveal the extent of his inability to function without them.
A copy of instructions for Biden obtained by Axios showed large pictures of a podium on stage, along with a path toward that podium, with bold letters reading, “Walk to podium.”
Another page showed additional images of the room, captioned “View from podium” and “View from audience.”
Several Democrats who helped set up some of Biden’s recent events told the publication that White House staff treated a “simple fundraiser at a private residence” like “a NATO summit with his movements.”
The White House, however, denied that there was anything unusual about the detailed instructions.
“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,” White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “And then-Vice President Biden’s team did the same, as did other principals, during the second term of the Obama-Biden administration.”
The report comes amidst increased scrutiny of Biden’s mental capacity following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.
A growing number of Democrats have suggested Biden should step aside from the top of the Democratic ticket, but Biden has thus far resisted their efforts to force him out.
“The bottom line here is that I am not going anywhere,” Biden said on Monday in a statement aimed at donors and congressional Democrats.
