According to the New York Post, the operation aims to protect the oldest-ever president from potential stumbles and falls during his reelection campaign. It reportedly involves various measures, such as using a lower set of stairs for boarding Air Force One and employing flashlights and verbal warnings to guide the president in backstage settings.
The 72-year-old first lady has become a noticeable presence during her husband's walks across the White House South Lawn, more so after Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur mentioned the president's poor memory. Jill's presence serves as a clear signal that no further impromptu questions will be entertained, in contrast with journalists managing to shout questions when the chief executive is alone.
The 81-year-old president has held the fewest press conferences and formal interviews of any modern commander-in-chief for three years. He has only held three solo White House press conferences since taking office in January 2021 – with the most recent one in November 2022.
Jill has also taken on the role of stage manager at times, guiding her husband offstage at events where he hesitated or wandered in the wrong direction after making remarks. Other White House staffers have also taken extensive measures to prevent potentially embarrassing interactions.
In one instance from January 2022, then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki sat back down as the president continued to take questions – only to bring the press conference to a close. Later in April of that year, then-White House Director of Message Planning Meghan Hays intervened during the White House Easter Egg Roll. Dressed in an Easter bunny costume, she blocked the president from answering a question and guided him away from journalists.
Moreover, the White House Press Office has implemented a pre-screening process to select which reporters are allowed to attend large indoor events. This process, which obviously favors reporters aligned with the administration, was eased after a press corps protest in the summer of 2022. However, recent events show a return to these measures.
Biden still shows lapses and verbal missteps in sparse interviews
During a November 2022 White House press conference, the president announced that he would take questions from 10 pre-approved reporters – but left after calling on only nine. The slip was accompanied by a factual error when he mistakenly referred to Russian troops withdrawing from the Iraqi city of Fallujah instead of the Ukrainian city of Kherson. (Related: Biden performing POORLY in multiple opinion polls.)
Recent weeks have seen an uptick in such lapses, with the president mixing up the names of current foreign leaders with their deceased predecessors. In a Las Vegas speech, he claimed to have recently spoken with the late French President Francois Mitterrand – who passed away in 1996. Another instance occurred in Manhattan, where Biden recalled discussing the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl – who last held office in 1998 and passed away in 2017.
Moreover, February has brought another episode when the president misidentified Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the "president of Mexico." In reality, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is the current Mexican president.
The last press conference of any size with the president was in November of last year during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. There was an instance during that summit where he appeared confused and mispronounced the name of the venue while standing alongside other world leaders.
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