Joe Biden has been out of contact with a growing number of key White House figures, his administration has revealed while seeking to assuage concerns about the president’s exposure to COVID-19.
SO WHAT
Wait, are they actually keeping Biden in the basement?
WHAT HAPPENED
In recent weeks, a slew of members of Biden’s inner circle who have contracted the coronavirus have been described as not having been in close proximity to the president for several days, The Washington Post reported last week.
- “The growing number coronavirus cases within the White House and the president’s orbit have indirectly revealed that few people, including top advisers and family members, appear to spend more than 15 minutes with him,” wrote The Post’s Annie Linskey in an analysis.
- In early May, when Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tested positive for coronavirus, the State Department issued a statement saying he and Biden had not seen each other in person for “several days.”
- Similarly, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who contracted the virus weeks ago, was pronounced not have been in “close contact” with the president.
Even Vice President Kamala Harris, who tested positive for COVID-19 late last month, was said to not have been with Biden in eight days, according to aides.
THE NARRATIVE
Many of Biden’s critics have portrayed him as an enfeebled man, who is mostly kept away from official duties and the public by his handlers.
- During the 2020 election race, Donald Trump contrasted his vigorous campaign and rally schedule with Biden’s self-imposed cloistering in his Delaware basement amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
Meanwhile, Biden has avoided mainstream media interviews for more than 100 days, Fox News reported Monday.
- “If you don’t do an interview in 102 days, that shows that his handlers are petrified he’ll say things like he just said about defending Taiwan, for example, because that requires a cleanup on aisle five,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha said during a “Fox & Friends First” appearance Monday.
An ABC News/The Washington Post poll released in February found that 54% of Americans don’t believe Biden has the “mental sharpness it takes to serve effectively as president.”
