Where’s Joe?
After another day of hidin’, help us find Biden
Just 40 days before the election, Joe Biden had no public appearances yesterday past 9 a.m., and retired to his basement. At this point, could anyone pick him out in a crowd?
He’s giving a whole new meaning to “Morning Joe.”
With just 40 days until the election, Joe Biden’s campaign called a “lid” at the early hour of 9 a.m. Thursday, meaning the Democratic nominee would not be holding any public events for the rest of the day.
Biden’s campaign blasted out the e-mail at 9:20 a.m., announcing that the 77-year-old former vice president would spend the day hunkered down in the Wilmington, Del., home where he has been sequestered for much of the coronavirus pandemic.
His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, also had no public events.
On Wednesday, Biden told reporters that he would spend Thursday preparing for his first debate with President Trump, which is set for Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio.
“I’ve started to prepare, but I haven’t really gotten into it heavily,” Biden said.
The Democratic ticket’s light schedule stands in stark contrast to the frenzied campaigning of Team Trump, with the president flying to Charlotte, NC, to deliver remarks on his healthcare plan before traveling to Jacksonville, Fla., for one of his signature rallies at 7 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence has also been quietly zigzagging across the country on a bus tour and planned stops in Eau Claire, Wis., and Minneapolis Thursday.
Trump seized on the Biden campaign’s announcement in a tweet in which he suggested the former vice president was tired and not up for the top job.
“Sleepy Joe Biden just closed down his campaign for the day (Again). Wants to rest! He is a very LOW ENERGY INDIVIDUAL, and our Country cannot make it in these exciting, but complex and competitive times, with a Low Energy President,” Trump wrote.
Biden shunned public events for months at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, saying it was important he lead by example as the nation was told to stay home to stop the spread of the contagion.
The former veep significantly ramped up his travel following Labor Day with a battleground-state tour but has repeatedly eschewed taking questions from reporters, fueling criticism that he is unable to handle intense questioning.
Last week, The Post revealed that Trump had fielded roughly five times as many questions from reporters as Biden had since July.
According to a review of the candidates’ interviews and briefings, Biden took zero questions during at least one eight-day period in late July and early August.
Next week’s highly anticipated debate will be the first time the two candidates face off in person and follows months of jibes from the Trump campaign about Biden’s mental acuity.
The president has reportedly shunned traditional preparation for the three planned debates, telling aides that he was counting on his opponent to make one of the gaffes that scarred his primary race.
But the Trump campaign has tried to walk back its attacks on Biden in recent weeks, realizing that the former vice president is battle-tested, having endured the Democratic presidential primary debates.
The president even went so far as to say he expected that Biden would “do great” in their first matchup.