President Joe Biden is pushing his aides to let him be himself ahead of the 2024 election, staffers and people close to the president told The New York Times (NYT).
As Biden battles concerns about his age, the president and those around him are considering a new strategy that would involve letting “Joe be Joe” and interact with the American people more frequently, according to The NYT. As a part of the strategy, the White House has worked on getting Biden outside of Washington, D.C., to participate in one-on-one experiences with voters and to engage on social media, The NYT reported. (RELATED: Biden Campaign Reportedly Has Taylor Swift Endorsement At The Top Of Their Wishlist)
“I have been saying for several months to the campaign, ‘Please, let him be Joe Biden,’ and so have many others,” Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons told the outlet.
In a February social media clip, Biden reacted to a video of former President Donald Trump comparing himself to late Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Rob Flaherty, a top advisor to the president, told The NYT that Biden came up with the idea for the video himself.
“That came from his brain,” Flaherty told the outlet.
“He’s got more demands than I am sometimes prepared to keep up with,” Flaherty said, adding that Biden even rewrites his own tweets and occasionally ad-libs in videos.
While the White House maintains that the effort to get Biden outside of the city is for the purpose of connecting with voters rather than quelling concerns of his age, the president is expected to address worries about his fitness for office during his State of the Union address Thursday, aides told The NYT. The president will draw on his age to highlight his experience and achievements throughout his political career, aides told the outlet.
Supporters of President Joe Biden attend a ‘First In The Nation’ rally on January 30, 2024 in Bluffton, South Carolina. South Carolina continues preparations ahead of the next Primary election on February 3. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In an increased effort to get Biden in front of the American people, especially younger crowds, social media “content creators” have been scheduled to meet the president at campaign stops, The NYT reported.
“We have always known that the most effective way to reach the American people is when they can hear President Biden make his case directly and authentically,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, told The NYT.
Throughout his administration, Biden has relied on social media, rather than traditional press conferences, according to The Washington Post.
In his fourth year in office, Biden is averaging about 11 press conferences a year as of Jan. 20, according to data compiled by the University of California at Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project. His average is the lowest since former President Ronald Reagan, who averaged 5.8 press conferences per year while in office between 1981 to 1989.
“I think it’s more than coincidental that you have these two presidents with an aging factor. And I don’t mean to say that he’s non compos mentis and he’s going down. I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying I do think it’s more than coincidental that oftentimes as these presidents get older, they want to do these kinds of pressers less. Prior to that would be the third and most elderly president was Eisenhower, who was well known for having trouble with his syntax,” historian Barbara Perry, co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, previously told the Daily Caller.
“I just think that’s part and parcel of what happens when you have older presidents, that to be on the hair trigger and be able to respond immediately to let’s face it, and I think this is the role of the press is to press and ask pressing questions instead, sometimes may even be hostile or at the very least, be pointed, and ask presidents to explain what they’re doing and why they’re doing things and to be controversial,” Perry continued.