President Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Sept. 15, 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Biden's most recent rally came on May 29 in Philadelphia and was one of just two that occurred after March.
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The eight campaign rallies at which he spoke for fewer than 30 minutes are: roughly 20 minutes at an event in Manassas, Virginia, in January; about 10 minutes during an event in Culver City, California, in February; about 25 minutes during a campaign event in Wallingford, Pennsylvania; and just under 30 minutes at a rally in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in April. He also spoke for about 20 minutes during a campaign rally in Philadelphia in May; about 10 minutes at a rally at a restaurant in Phoenix in March; about 27 minutes during a Las Vegas campaign rally focusing on the economy in March; and about 20 minutes during an Atlanta rally in March.
Outside of the election cycle, the 46th president has also delivered far fewer news conferences than his predecessors, which earned him criticism in the first weeks of his presidency.
Biden notably did speak for more than an hour during the State of the Union on March 7.
Former President Trump arrives for his campaign rally on May 11, 2024, in Wildwood, New Jersey. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Biden’s relative bevy of campaign events this year are a departure from his 2020 cloistered campaign strategy during the pandemic, which earned him the nickname "Basement Joe" from Trump. However, outside of the election cycle, the 46th president has also delivered far fewer news conferences than his predecessors, which earned him criticism in the first weeks of his presidency.
President Biden addresses a joint press conference with Finland's president after the U.S.-Nordic leaders summit in Helsinki on July 13, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden is set to take the debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday evening, where he will face off against Trump for the first time since their debate on Oct. 22, 2020. The CNN Presidential Debate will air for 90 minutes, including two commercial breaks, far longer than Biden typically spends at a podium on the campaign trail.
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Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer told Fox News Digital when reached for comment that Trump and "the crazy person screaming in the street all speak for longer than 30 minutes" and "no one believes that is a sign of mental acuity – well maybe Dr. Ronny Jackson does."
"Every day, Joe Biden is president of the United States, fighting to protect women's rights, build an economy that works for all Americans rights, and defend democracy at home and abroad. Donald Trump couldn't do that, that's why he's no longer president, spending his weeks golfing, sleeping in courtrooms, and gladhanding racist billionaires who want to cut Social Security," Singer said.
Trump has challenged Biden to take a drug test ahead of the event, previously suggesting the president takes substances to enhance his cognitive functioning. While former White House physician Ronny Jackson, who now serves as a Republican Texas congressman, also called on the president to take a drug test ahead of the debate, citing a recent bombshell Wall Street Journal report detailing interviews with roughly 45 lawmakers and administration officials who described Biden as an 81-year-old leader losing his savvy.
"This is a Biden-specific concern based on the unexplained change in his demeanor during the [State of the Union]. President Trump has been the same his entire life, and there have definitely been no concerning changes. President Trump has also previously offered to take one if Biden does," Jackson previously told Fox News Digital.
The White House hit back that the Wall Street Journal story and anecdotes were examples of partisan politics working to deride the "savvy and effective" president. The article, however, was just a more recent example of claims Biden has lost his sharpness, which had been on public display for decades when he served as a Delaware senator and eventually as Obama’s vice president.
President Obama takes President Biden by the wrist at fundraising event. (Christopher Gardner via Storyful)
The report’s findings have been repeatedly cited by critics and the media amid a string of gaffes and missed cues Biden has made in recent weeks, including Obama taking Biden’s wrist to seemingly lead him offstage at a fundraiser in LA this month, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni directing Biden back to a gaggle of world leaders in Italy this month after he took a few steps away from the group to give a thumbs up to a parachutist.
President Biden looks toward parachutists during an event that took place during the G-7 summit in Italy on June 13, 2024. (Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The White House has pushed back, saying videos claiming to show Biden motionless or receiving assistance from those around him are "cheapfakes presented by discredited rightwing groups who can’t contend with the President’s record and agenda."
The CNN Presidential Debate will kick off at 9 p.m. Thursday from Atlanta, Georgia. Biden is anticipated to head to New York City following the debate, where he will join musician Elton John in a visit to the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village to remember the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The 1969 riots are viewed as the beginning of the gay rights movement in the U.S.
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Trump will head to Virginia following the debate, where he will hold a rally in Chesapeake regarding "Joe Biden's Incompetent Presidency," according to his campaign website.
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