The White House is quietly making new accommodations to protect President Joe Biden from stumbling issues related to his old age.
On numerous occasions in recent months, Biden has tripped or stumbled while scaling the stairs to board Air Force One. The most infamous, and scary, falling incident came last month when he crashed on stage at the Air Force Academy commencement.
To preserve Biden's safety during his old age, the president's advisers have made two key changes in recent months, Politico reported.
First, they steer him to use a smaller staircase to board Air Force One; not the large, 26-stair case that presidents typically use, but a smaller, 14-stair case that enters the belly of Air Force One. More from Politico:
While many Biden advisers POLITICO contacted would not comment publicly on the change, two privately acknowledged an intentional shift to steer the 80-year-old president to the lower stairs more often to make his travel easier and limit the possibility for missteps.
Second, advisers are encouraging Biden to wear sneakers instead of dress shoes, which Politico described as "another concession to comfort necessitated by age."
A White House official, however, downplayed the significance of Biden using the smaller staircase to board Air Force One.
"There are a series of factors that go into the logistical decision-making on this, including weather, what kind of airport we're landing at and whether there is a formal greeting planned for the tarmac where we expect that press will want an official photo at the bottom of the tall stairs," the official told Politico. "There's not one hard and fast rule — it is a decision made on a variety of factors in a wide range of settings and circumstances.”
The changes come after the White House publicly acknowledged that Biden uses a CPAP machine while he sleeps because of sleep apnea. The admission was made after reporters noticed indentions on Biden's face left by the CPAP mask.
While Biden's age is a clear political liability, as polls repeatedly show, it's a good sign the White House staff is taking precautionary measures to care for the safety of our 80-year-old commander in chief.
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The White House is unable to say whether American taxpayers are funding the spring break trip of Natalie Biden, the president's granddaughter.
President Biden traveled to San Diego on Monday, where he met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
According to the Associated Press, his daughter Ashley and granddaughter Natalie, the eldest child of the late Beau Biden, accompanied him on the trip. Biden's stop in San Diego was the first destination of a three-day trip to California and Nevada.
At the end of a press gaggle between White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the media, Natalie became the subject of questions.
"Why is Natalie Biden on the trip?" a reporter asked.
"As you know, the president’s family tends to travel with him — right? — pretty often. So that's not uncommon," Jean-Pierre responded. "Natalie is on spring break. And so, she wanted to spend time with her Pop. So she joined her Pop on this trip."
The reporter followed up, asking who is financing Natalie's travel expenses.
"When members of the president's family travel with him when he's on official business and they don’t necessarily have a role, does the president or members of his family reimburse the federal government for their travel expenses?" the reporter asked.
Shockingly, Jean-Pierre said she doesn't know who is responsible for funding Natalie's expenses.
"That's a good question. I would have to look into how it works for members of the president’s family. I actually don't know," she said. "But I would look into that and get back to you. I actually don’t know how that works. You might know better than I. I would have to look into that."
None— (@)
While the exact rules about reimbursement for Air Force One travel are murky, typically non-official travel by non-government officials is reimbursed to taxpayers. Even journalists flying aboard the presidential 747 pay the equivalent of a commercial fee for their travel.
So the question remains: Because Natalie is a private citizen and not conducting business on behalf of the government, who will reimburse taxpayers for her travel expenses?
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On Sunday it was reported that President Donald Trump accepted an Qatar’s offer of a jumbo jet to serve temporarily as Air Force One after Boeing failed to deliver the long-promised replacement aircraft. But the real story here is that Boeing, the Department of Defense’s premier contractor, has been delayed years on a project vital […]
There is absolutely nothing commendable about Biden and his career, especially about his four years in the White House.
Radio traffic shows members of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department scrambling to clear roads and provide assistance to President Biden.
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