- Biden remains engaged with his work and continues to ask sharp questions at work, per the NYT.
- The newspaper spoke with more than a dozen current and former top aides about Biden's performance.
- It was observed that Biden "remained intellectually engaged" while also "grilling aides" on particular issues.
President Joe Biden remains engaged with his work and continues to ask sharp questions while conducting official White House business, according to several current and former top aides who spoke with The New York Times.
If Biden — who is currently 79 — were to be reelected in 2024, he would be 82 years old at the time of his inauguration in January 2025, and he would be 86 at the end of his second term.
Some voters and Democratic strategists have raised concerns about the prospect of having a commander-in-chief in their 80s, especially as former President Donald Trump — who just turned 76 — continues to tease a presidential bid.
In speaking with more than a dozen individuals, The Times reported that Biden "remained intellectually engaged, asking smart questions at meetings, grilling aides on points of dispute, calling them late at night, picking out that weak point on Page 14 of a memo and rewriting speeches."
White House officials told The Times that they have not implemented "special accommodations" for Biden, but privately said that they "guard" the president's weekends in Delaware as often as they can allow it.
The Times report referred to Biden as "a five- or five-and-a-half-day-a-week president," while also noting that he is readily available at any time.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates dismissed any notion that Biden was not working every day, even if he happened to be away from the Oval Office.
"President Biden works every day and because chief executives can perform their duties from anywhere in the world, it has long been common for them to spend weekends away from the White House," he told The Times.