Joe Biden’s last public appearance was a week ago, when he flew from Delaware to Maryland for a week of debate preparation at Camp David, the presidential retreat at Catoctin Mountain Park. Asked how preparations for the debate were going, Biden gave reporters a thumbs up as he boarded Air Force One in Wilmington last Thursday night.
Biden and President Trump will face off tomorrow night in a debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta. In contrast to Biden’s reclusiveness, Trump traveled the country giving speeches, holding rallies, attending fundraisers and engaging with the public without a script.
Biden landed at an airport in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Thursday night and was photographed shuffling across the tarmac to Marine One for his trip to Camp David. This is the last time Biden appears in public in person or through photos or videos.
President Joe Biden arrived at Hagerstown Regional Airport Thursday aboard Air Force One for his weekend trip to Camp David. pic.twitter.com/nd16N37EzP
— Al Drago (@Al_Drago) June 21, 2024
Biden arrived at Camp David, where he will be holed up and heavily medicated ahead of the debate.
Until Thursday, he had zero public events on his schedule. pic.twitter.com/3C3iCuZOzg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 21, 2024
Oddly, neither the White House nor the Biden campaign has released any new photos or videos of Biden over the past week, let alone scheduled a brief public viewing.
Debate moderator CNN reporter MJ Lee reported on Monday that Biden was working late into the night on debate preparations and eating lasagna. “President Biden and his team of advisers at Camp David are still preparing for the debate and have not yet rested,” according to the report. said a senior adviser.
Tonight’s dinner is lasagna.
President Biden and his team of advisers at Camp David are still preparing for the debate and have not taken a break for the day, according to a senior adviser.
Tonight’s dinner is lasagna.
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) June 24, 2024
ABC News reported on Friday that Biden will practice standing for ninety minutes in preparation for the debate:
Part of Biden’s “debate preparation” includes rehearsing 90-minute stand-ups (in addition to juicing) pic.twitter.com/tLJ0BpD5uT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 21, 2024
The Biden campaign provided a report on Biden’s debate preparations to The New York Times published on Tuesday, based on descriptions provided by Biden’s debate team. This article is not accompanied by any visuals of Biden at Camp David (excerpt):
WASHINGTON — At Camp David, a movie theater and an airplane hangar were outfitted with lighting and production equipment to create a mock debate stage. At least 16 current and former aides were summoned from Washington and Wilmington, Del., to drive golf carts back and forth to President Joe Biden’s strategy sessions.
Biden is preparing for the fifth day of Thursday’s debate with Donald Trump at his presidential resort in the northern woods of Maryland. Camp David has become a centerpiece of the administration and campaign efforts to help Biden shake off the rust that often characterized his tenure as defense secretary and address widespread concerns among voters that he is too old to be an effective president.
Workdays vary in length and are not strictly structured, according to people familiar with Camp David planning who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Biden and his most trusted advisers are working on improvements or practices they believe are currently the best.
… They are all trying to figure out what attacks Trump might launch against Biden, what Biden policies Trump might try to undermine, and how best to get the president to focus on the debate and develop his character and policies with Trump Compared.
… Biden advisers say the context itself will help highlight Trump’s vulnerabilities and allow the president to push back against the idea that he’s bumbling in public — presented through a series of misleading videos. Biden and Trump will meet in a closed studio in Atlanta without a live audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted when it is not his turn to speak.
The Trump campaign poked fun at Biden’s reclusiveness in an image released on Wednesday, suggesting he was receiving medical treatment for the debate.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 26, 2024
The Associated Press reported this month (excerpt) that other presidents have retreated to Camp David for debate preparations:
Camp David, located in the Catoctin Mountains of northwest Washington, is no stranger to presidents preparing for debates. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan traveled there to prepare for debates during their reelection campaigns, and George H.W. Bush debated in 1992 It was the same before.
In 2012, President Barack Obama visited Camp David before his final debate with Republican Mitt Romney. prepare for.
Reuters reported in 2012 that Barack Obama made public appearances during debate preparations (excerpt):
Obama is spending the first few days of the second debate at a resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, a battleground state that both candidates hope to win in order to compete on Nov. 6 Achieve victory.
During a brief stop at a local campaign office, where he handed out pizza to volunteers and called supporters on the phone, Obama showed enthusiasm for his practice sessions.
“It’s going great,” Obama told reporters.
Before the Denver debate, Obama held a similar “debate camp” in the swing state of Nevada. During a visit to campaign offices there, he called practice sessions “a drag.”
This attitude may have been reflected on stage. His performance was widely criticized as passive, while Romney’s energetic performance gave his campaign a major boost.
Unlike Biden, the Obama team released a photo of Obama during debate preparations:
CNN posted a photo of debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash on its debate website on Wednesday:
Officially logged into ATL! CNN anchor @DanaBashCNN and @jacktapper Get ready for the presidential debate on CNN – tune in tomorrow at 9pm ET @CNN, @CNNi, @CNNEECNN Max and https://t.co/dOLGQHuF4a pic.twitter.com/bnqGxLH90j
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) June 26, 2024
While Biden went into hiding again on Wednesday, Trump attended a campaign event in Atlanta, speaking at Team Trump’s Black American Barbershop Roundtable:
LISTEN: President Trump convenes Team Trump for Black American Barbershop Roundtable in Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/KZatc7LzL3
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 26, 2024
Raw footage of Trump in Philadelphia on Saturday while Biden was in seclusion showed Trump interacting with reporters and supporters, including an impromptu interview with Fox News at the end.