President Joe Biden‘s campaign team has recently steered the president toward smaller, casual environments where he can excel in connecting with voters, taking a step away from formal, public campaign events where he is prone to gaffes that lead to ridicule.
Within the past few weeks, Biden has been seen at several food chains and beloved local restaurants across the country as he works to attract voters for his reelection bid this November. He’s been pictured at a boba tea shop in Nevada, a soul food restaurant in South Carolina, a Cook Out chain in North Carolina, a bar in Michigan, and a coffee shop in Pennsylvania, to name a few.
While some politicians aim for flashy, large campaign events that are typical in modern elections, Biden staffers and Democrats close to the White House have taken note of how much the president enjoys himself at smaller events.
“These retail stops allow the president to do what he excels at, connecting with people in a meaningful way on their own turf,” a former Biden aide told Politico, adding that he thinks the stops leave the president “energized.”
Several Democratic advisers have encouraged a return to the pandemic-era “front-porch” style campaigns that the Biden campaign relied on heavily during the 2020 campaign.
“I think future campaigns would be wise to do it. It’s much less toll on everyone concerned, and you can reach a lot more people faster,” longtime Biden adviser Bruce Reed said at a 2021 event with the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School, calling the strategy “incredibly efficient.”
Biden has only held three campaign rallies since announcing his candidacy last April. Though larger-scale events are likely on the agenda as the general election grows closer, Democratic allies have told Politico that the campaign plans to keep things small for now.
“It is something this president personally loves and makes him happy,” said Jim Messina, campaign manager for former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign. “It’s a sweet spot.”
As much as Biden might enjoy the pit stops, they could also be a tactic to keep the president away from any chance of messing up, whether it’s incorrectly identifying someone or becoming confused or disoriented while onstage. In 2023, he ended with a long record of blunders and exaggerations that made some eager to hear his next mishap while keeping allies and aides anxious over what he could say next.
Most recently, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Biden told the crowd he met with Francois Mitterrand, a French president who has been dead for 28 years. Two years ago, Biden mistakenly called out for former GOP Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash the month before. In January, Biden mistook a female attendee for Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC).
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Keeping his campaign events small and personal, without prepared speeches or anyone to acknowledge formally, can prevent Biden from making huge blunders that serve as evidence for voters who believe his age is of serious concern when weighing his ability to serve a second term.
A national poll from NBC News found that more than half of Biden’s voter base, 54%, say they have major or moderate concerns about whether the Democratic incumbent has the mental and physical health to hold office when asked about his age.
