A Democratic lawmaker claimed the White House “overprotects” President Joe Biden and called on the president to be more front and center during his bid for reelection next year. The comments come in the wake of the president’s recent cheat sheet controversy.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said the president does a good job without his staff coddling him, even when he makes mistakes.
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“I think he’s actually really good. I think his staff overprotects him,” Khanna told Fox News’s America’s Newsroom on Friday.
“I think, put him out there in a press conference. Who cares if someone makes a gaffe? Every person makes a gaffe in conversations. Let’s see the authentic President Biden. He’s an empathetic person. And I think the more he’s out there, the better,” he added.
Biden recently faced backlash over an image of him holding a “cheat sheet” with a picture of a Los Angeles Times reporter and an outline of her question on Wednesday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied that the sheet was a cheat sheet and denied knowing the question that the reporter would ask. She said it was normal for the president to be briefed on who would ask the questions.
“It is entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference and issues that we expect they might ask about,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday.
Biden’s opponents have also raised questions about his mental acuity given his age and the age he would be if reelected. Biden is currently 80 years old, and he would be 86 by the time his second term ends if he won reelection. Biden announced a second bid for president earlier this week.
Khanna admitted age would be a factor in the next election, but he said he appreciated how Biden was open about addressing his age. However, he said he did not believe people should make the election all about the candidates.
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“Elections aren’t about the candidates,” Khanna said. “They’re about the American people.”
The White House has also sent out cheat sheets to reporters that touted the administration’s successes in January, and another sheet was given to Biden with a clarifying statement about his comment that Russian President Vladimir Putin should not remain in power last month in Poland. Biden clarified that he was not calling for a policy change but expressing outrage at Putin’s actions.
