As President Joe Biden celebrates his 81st birthday on Monday and his age is thrust back into the spotlight, voters are reminded of the plans and protocols in place to avoid a campaign-ending fall or mistake before the 2024 election.
During speeches, Biden has made several mistakes, which are almost always caught by opponents who use them against him. He has also had several close calls with stumbles that didn’t take him all the way to the ground. And twice, Biden took very public tumbles, with one happening during the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony.
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Recently, some current and former Biden administration officials have urged his handlers to take a “bubble wrap” approach to the president, according to the New York Times.
Such a strategy entails assuming that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and protecting Biden from any possible trips, stumbles, or falls. Essentially, the strategy means encasing the president in hypothetical bubble wrap to avoid damage for the next year.
Some steps the White House and Biden’s campaign have taken to avoid another fall include having the president wear sneakers more often for events and speaking engagements and using Air Force One’s lower deck staircase to enter. He’s also been doing balance-improving exercises with a physical therapist since the first year of his term, according to the White House.
But the White House doesn’t want to talk about how the president’s age might be affecting his job performance. Instead, the White House has tried to say Biden turning 81, far from being a liability, is a mark of how experienced he is.
“Because of President Biden’s decades of experience in public service and deep relationships with leaders in Congress, he passed legislation that has helped to create more than 14 million jobs, lower prescription drug costs, invest in America’s infrastructure and technology, and led to the strongest economic recovery in the developed world,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said in a statement.
However, while the White House projects confidence Biden is holding up well, strategists and voters are skeptical.
“He doesn’t look and speak the part,” author and political analyst John B. Judis said. “He’s not a commanding or charming presence on a presidential or presidential election stage.”
“I think a lot of voters, and young people in particular, who are not at all put off by his political positions or accomplishments, are put off by his utter failure as a regal persona,” Judis said. “And I don’t know how that can be fixed. Not by bicycling. Biden’s best hope in that regard is the voters’ perception of Trump as a bad or even evil father who wants to wreck the family.”
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Despite his team’s best efforts, age, mental acuity, and physical ability have only loomed larger as a problem in the 2024 presidential election. Majorities across the country express concern about all three in regard to Biden. However, Biden’s likely Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, elicits similar concerns from voters. The 77-year-old also worries a significant share of voters over his age and ability, though fewer are worried about him than Biden.
This, coupled with Trump’s public legal troubles, has left the two men in a relative dead heat in 2024.
