President Joe Biden’s lack of public appearances since dropping out of the presidential race has sparked concerns about the 81-year-old’s health and whereabouts.
Several days after retreating to his Delaware residency following a COVID-19 diagnosis, Biden announced via Twitter that he was dropping out of the presidential race. Biden wrote that he would address the nation about his decision later in the week, but his public schedule for the week did not reveal when that public appearance would come. Media personalities, lawmakers and pundits alike are wondering where the president is and why he has not chosen to address the nation since his decision. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Biden News Prompts Prominent Republicans At RNC To Wargame The Kamala Scenario)
“How is the fact that Joe Biden hasn’t addressed the country yet real life? How can anybody think this is normal? We got a Belichick napkin resignation from the most powerful person on earth,” Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, wrote Monday on Twitter.
How is the fact that Joe Biden hasn’t addressed the country yet real life? How can anybody think this is normal? We got a Belichick napkin resignation from the most powerful person on earth. #WhereIsJoeBiden pic.twitter.com/XolL0QCAy6
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 22, 2024
This is the last time Joe Biden was seen. It was five days ago. Nobody knows where he is, what he’s doing, if he’s okay, or who is running the country at the moment.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 22, 2024
In October of 2020, President Trump had Covid and the WH released a photo of him working in the Walter Reed hospital conference room.
Joe Biden has Covid, is forced to drop out of the race by letter, but no one has seen him.
Where is Joe Biden?
What are they hiding? pic.twitter.com/sxJ195kHrj— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) July 22, 2024
Though the president’s schedule remains yet to be determined, Biden is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his trip to Washington the week of July 22. An Israeli official, however, told Axios that the meeting is not supposed to take place Tuesday, like originally planned.
“We are still waiting for an answer from the White House,” an Israeli official told the outlet.
The president also canceled a trip scheduled for to Houston to asses the damage of Hurricane Beryl, Mayor John Whitmire said in a news conference Sunday.
Where tf is Joe Biden at?
— MeekMill (@MeekMill) July 22, 2024
Where IS Joe Biden?
Astounding that he hasn’t been seen or heard since quitting the race.— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 22, 2024
While Biden hasn’t been seen since his letter or since his diagnosis, the White House has provided some updates on his day-to-day whereabouts. The president received two briefings Monday from Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The president’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, released an update Monday on the 81-year-old’s recovery from COVID-19. O’Connor wrote that the president’s symptoms had almost ceased and other vitals remained healthy. Still, Biden has made no public plans to address the nation.
Amid the concerns for Biden’s whereabouts, the president called into what was once his campaign headquarters while Harris was visiting. The president told his staffers that though he won’t be on the ticket he still plans to be “fully engaged” in the reelection effort.
“I don’t endorse Biden conspiracies, but still: It’s strange and wrong that Biden hasn’t spoken given the historic magnitude of his announcement. Having a President drop out by tweet and then disappear is bizarre. If he’s well enough to decide, then he’s well enough to speak,” independent journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote in a tweet.
I don’t endorse Biden conspiracies, but still:
It’s strange and wrong that Biden hasn’t spoken given the historic magnitude of his announcement.
Having a President drop out by tweet and then disappear is bizarre.
If he’s well enough to decide, then he’s well enough to speak. pic.twitter.com/L0TKMpXHrg
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 22, 2024
In the weeks following Biden’s disastrous debate performance where he stumbled and looked confused on stage, Democrats and allies of the president have called on the president to drop out. Concerns about the president’s fitness escalated after it was revealed that a neurologist and Parkinson’s disease specialist visited the White House several times in recent months.
Shortly after Biden posted his letter dropping out of the race, the president endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the democratic nominee in another tweet. Harris made her first public appearance Monday following Biden’s announcement to address a crowd of student athletes. The vice president told attendees that the president wished to attend and briefly touted his record and presidency.
“Resigning by letter and tweet when there are questions about your mental and physical condition inevitably raises further questions about your mental and physical condition,” Ross Douthat, a New York Times columnist, tweeted.
I demand proof of life from Joe Biden today by 5:00pm.
He needs to get in front of some camera and discuss if he’s aware that he dropped out.
Hiding is completely unacceptable.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) July 22, 2024
“Where’s Joe Biden?”
DNC: “Don’t worry Tommy, we sent him upstate to live on a farm with all the other Joe Bidens. He’s happy now.” https://t.co/phYyQRBkCT
— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) July 18, 2024
Amid the president’s apparent disappearing act, Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert demanded “proof of life” from the president by 5 p.m. Monday.
“He needs to get in front of some [cameras] and discuss if he’s aware that he dropped out. Hiding is completely unacceptable,” she tweeted.
