For his events, President Biden's staffers prepare a short document with large print and photos that include his precise path to a podium, according to an event template the White House sends to staffers
For his events, President Biden's staffers prepare a short document with large print and photos that include his precise path to a podium, according to an event template the White House sends to staffers.
For his events, President Biden's staffers prepare a concise document with large print and photos that outline his exact path to the podium, according to an event template provided by the White House to staffers.
Why it matters: Since the June 27 debate, some Democrats who've attended and helped organize Biden events have questioned whether the meticulous focus on details is to conceal the 81-year-old president's limitations, rather than simply reflecting a thorough staff.
"I staffed a simple fundraiser at a private residence, but they treated it like it was a NATO summit with his movements," said a person who staffed a Biden event in the past 18 months.
Driving the news: Before a presidential event, the White House sends event staffers a document to replicate when preparing their own materials for the president.
One template — a copy of which was obtained by Axios — is brief and straightforward, featuring one large picture of the event space on each page, accompanied by large text such as: "View from podium," and "View from audience."
In the five-page document, two pages are dedicated to separate pictures of, "Walk to podium."
The staffer who assisted with the fundraiser told Axios: "It surprised me that a seasoned political pro like the president would need detailed verbal and visual instructions on how to enter and exit a room."
A White House official told Axios: "If individuals are not accustomed to seeing advance teams work, that would be a common reaction, whoever the principal is."
Two former aides who worked with Biden during his vice presidency said that at that time, his preparation documents were different and more often relied on site diagrams.
Reality check: Organizing presidential events — often called "advance work" — is intensive and detail-focused for every commander-in-chief.
Presidential movements are planned down to every footstep in ways that the movements of a vice president often are not.
Advance documents have also evolved since Biden was vice president, including the increased use of smartphone photographs.
Other prominent principals in the Biden administration use similar methods for plotting his movements, sources told Axios.