The White House is striking back at an Axios report that says President Joe Biden's handlers and campaign are on a "don't-let-him-trip mission," comparing it to the overblown outrage over former President Barack Obama having worn a tan suit.
"Move over, tan suit!" White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said on X Tuesday, linking to a CBS News report on sneakers becoming a professional footwear choice in Congress. "Can confirm: @POTUS is one of the millions of Americans with sneakers.
"Notice that when others do the same, the media's tone is different?
"As sneakers take over the workplace, the fashion phenomenon is making its way to Congress."
White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt piled on the mocking of Axios' report, also using the tan suit talking point.
"The single greatest scandal in presidential history (since President Obama wore a tan suit)," LaBolt said on X.
But the nexus of the report remains that Biden's White House and campaign handlers are concerned about potentially negative headlines regarding the president's advanced age leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
The watchful eyes on the president are akin to what former President Donald Trump and Biden critics said was a strategy to keep Biden on the campaign trail from his basement during the 2020 pandemic, according to Axios.
The White House responded to the report, calling out the media's desire to "sensationalize" the president's health struggles.
"This isn't new — it was proactively and transparently disclosed in a 2021 report from the president's doctor and again this year," Bates told Axios when reached for comment.
"This article fits an unfortunate pattern of media attempting to sensationalize something that has long been public, rather than covering the president's very real achievements for hardworking Americans."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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