It has been suggested by some that 80-year-old President Joe Biden, who is increasingly showing signs of physical and cognitive health decline, is not fully in charge of his own administration, or even his own actions in some instances.
That perception was bolstered this week by a video that showed Biden being gently guided and directed specifically on where to go by a handler who was caught on a hot mic offering his assistance in completing the basic tasks, the Conservative Brief reported.
This was just the latest of several similar instances over the past two years in which the elderly president is treated by handlers in the same manner as a nurse might treat a patient at an assisted living facility.
It was on Tuesday that President Biden traveled to Durham, North Carolina to deliver a speech on the economy at a semiconductor manufacturing plant and was given a tour of the facility by a handler assigned to guide him, during which a hot mic picked up their conversation.
As the pair exited the building to go outside, Biden pointed and asked, "Down there?" to which the handler replied, "Yessir, down the ramp."
"And we have people lined up on the left over here, uh, some union leaders and workers," the guide noted as they continued down the ramp, at which point Biden gave a half wave and said, "Hey guys and ladies."
The handler then advised the president, "Your mark is gonna be the blue one to the left ... you've got a blue mark ... and that's ok," as Biden proceeded to walk directly to the assembled reception line and said, "I'll stay on my blue mark and then I'm gonna say hello to each one," to which the guide replied, "Yessir, I'll help ya get started."
GUIDE: "Yes, sir, down the ramp...your mark is gonna be the blue one to the left. You got a blue mark."
BIDEN: "I'll stay in my blue mark." pic.twitter.com/XSmxEgUr2z
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 28, 2023
The Conservative Brief noted that the above incident bore a striking resemblance to one in Nov. 2021 when President Biden paid a visit to a General Motors assembly plant and was given similar directions on where to go and where to stand by a company handler.
In that instance, also picked up by microphones, Biden and his guide discussed and confirmed that he was to "stand on the blue marker" but then proceeded to walk right past it, forcing everybody else to shift their pre-planned positions and causing a brief moment of visible exasperation from the GM guide.
Biden: "I stand on the blue marker, huh?"
GM Guide: "Yeah, the blue"
Biden: "Gotta take orders"
GM Guide: "You're here..." *points*
Biden: *blows right past it*
GM Guide: "you're...ok...ok" *everyone else moves up* pic.twitter.com/GqMLDYaGen
— Tommy Pigott (@TommyPigott) November 17, 2021
Another example of the elderly president being guided and told what to do by a handler -- in this case, one of his own staffers -- came during the White House Easter celebration in April 2022, when Biden began to answer questions from reporters about "Afghanistan" and "Pakistan" but was swiftly interrupted and redirected elsewhere by somebody wearing an Easter Bunny suit who was later revealed to be a member of his communications team.
Why is the Easter Bunny directing the President of the United States 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 pic.twitter.com/9bgXQJ6EXW
— Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) April 18, 2022
To be sure, it is not at all uncommon for politicians visiting different places to be given guidance on what is next on the itinerary or where to go and specifically stand for the purposes of camera angles and video setups, but rarely to this extent or with a politician who so apparently needs close supervision.
