Videos of President Joe Biden falling, nearly falling, or appearing lost on stage have become quite familiar scenes since he entered the White House as the oldest man to assume the presidency.
And MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski is taking his staff to task for failing to protect their boss from such embarrassing incidents.
“I think his staff needs to own his age, I’m just going to be honest, I don’t think they do a good job helping out the president,” she said on Wednesday morning.
She continued:
“If you are managing a president’s schedule, and you are managing a president getting on stage and getting off stage, and getting on planes and getting off planes, and yes, he’s 80. You need to be there for him and you need to make a pathway, and you sure as hell better make sure he doesn’t fall on a sandbag. And I blame the staff for that.”
Watch the video below:
MSNBC’s @morningmika to Biden’s staff: “Do a better job b/c you can’t have these video images of the president tripping or the president like going to wrong way … b/c his age is going to be factor … It makes me mad.” pic.twitter.com/DDsLitF8vA
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 12, 2023
Brzezinski noted those clips will hurt Biden and urged the staff to let him do his job and interact with officials. However, she added, “My God, make sure… that you are there and you’re telling him what’s next.”
Finally, she said, “Do a better job because you can’t have these video images of the president tripping, or the president like going the wrong way. It’s not going to work in this presidency because his age is going to be a factor… It makes me mad.”
She should have been saying this about three years ago.
You can debate whether or not Biden is up for the job at his age. But one thing appears to be clear, his staff is for whatever reason, woefully unable to make tweaks to protect his image — and him physically.
It could be understandable if they are afraid of giving his critics ammunition by being seen as making accommodations for the president.
It does not necessarily mean he needs a stairlift to Air Force One. But at least take some steps to make it clear where he is supposed to walk after he finishes a speech, and is not there trying to communicate with hand gestures to his staff off stage to figure out where he should walk.
Yet, his staff for some reason appears utterly unwilling to make those changes.
In June, a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if the chief of staff had directed a review to prevent future falling incidents, her response was bizarre.
“You’re asking me if the chief of staff has asked to change anything from here. And here’s the thing: we are not,” she said, adding, “Things happen. Other presidents have had similar situations as you know… And so look, things happen. This is a president that delivers and will continue [to] deliver for the American people.”
It is not the best that Biden cannot figure out how to walk off stage, and keeps tripping and falling. But his staff shouldn’t be acting like everything is fine and there is nothing they can or should do.