Biden's travel schedule lighter than other presidents who won re-election
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President Biden hasn't flown across the country as much as the last two presidents who used the trappings of the office — including Air Force One — to win re-election, according to a review by Axios.
Why it matters: Biden, 81, is facing escalating questions from fellow Democrats on whether he has the stamina and acuity to continue in office, after a debate performance that focused attention on the limitations of the nation's oldest-ever president.
- Biden's flight logs from first six months of 2024 reveal a president with about three-quarters of former President Obama's travel during his re-election year in 2012, according to data compiled by Brendan Doherty, a U.S. Naval Academy professor and author of "The Rise of the President's Permanent Campaign."
- Biden is outpacing former President Trump, who was essentially grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic 2½ months into 2020, at a similar stage of re-election campaign.
- Biden has visited more swing states than Trump this year, as Trump spent considerable time in court.
By the numbers: Biden held 90 domestic events outside the D.C. area through June 30.
- Trump did 50 events during the same period four years ago, holding 25 events the first two months of 2020, before the seriousness of the pandemic was fully appreciated and all nonessential travel was discouraged.
- Obama held 120 events during the first six months of 2012.
- Former President George W. Bush also put Air Force One to use, headlining 102 events during the first six months of his re-election campaign in 2004.
- The numbers include official White House events, political rallies and private fundraisers. Not included: day trips to Virginia and Maryland suburbs of D.C. and visits to a president's second home.
Driving the news: After his miserable debate night Biden hit the road, holding seven events in four states over the next two days.
- In July, he has held events in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and he plans to visit Michigan on Friday after the NATO summit in D.C. The following week, he'll travel to Austin, Texas and Las Vegas.
What they're saying: "Trump is barely campaigning, and every day whether he's golfing or getting in fights with himself online, he's forced to defend his toxic, losing Project 2025 agenda," said Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesperson.
- "There are a lot of days between now and Election Day, and the hard work of earning every single vote is far from over," he added.
Zoom out: Running for re-election as an incumbent comes with certain tactical advantages — including one most presidents try to exploit: the blue and white Boeing 747 known as Air Force One.
- Heading into the 2022 midterm elections, Biden wasn't the frequent flyer that his two predecessor were, using the jet far less than either Trump or Obama in their first midterms, Axios has reported.
Zoom in: Most of Biden's events in the first half of the year have been on the East Coast. That includes more than 13 appearances in Pennsylvania, a swing state crucial to his re-election.
- In the first half of 2012, Obama held 16 events in Florida, a state he needed to win — and did.
Go deeper: Biden has done fewer press conferences and media interviews than any of the last seven presidents at this point in their terms.
- His campaign points out that he has done 40 interviews this year, but the White House helped draft the questions for Biden's first post-debate interview with a Black radio station last week.
