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If Biden's Supposedly 'Recovering Fast' From COVID, Why Did He Cancel All These Trips?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 22, 2024 8:30 PM

President Joe Biden's personal physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, shared an update earlier in a letter shared by the White House. Biden supposedly "continues to perform all of his presidential duties," O'Connor also noted. His letters have mentioned such a detail for days. As Katie mentioned in her piece about such an update from Monday, Biden "is feeling much better and recovering fast," per Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed to replace him not long after he dropped out of the race on Sunday. Even still, Biden is canceling multiple trips, per the New York Post. 

As of Monday night, nine trips have been canceled over the next two weeks, which includes "last-minute" cancelations. 

According to the Post:

Biden was scheduled to leave Monday for the West Coast, where he was to make stops in California, Denver, Houston and Austin – but all of those trips have been suddenly canceled, a White House source told The Post.

Biden, who has been isolating with COVID-19, was set to leave his home in Rehoboth, Del., on Monday, but extended his stay until Wednesday after announcing the end of his campaign the night before.

The source was not given any reason behind why the White House cancelled the trips. Biden’s illness was not immediately connected to the decision, as presidential physician Kevin O’Connor on Monday said Biden had all but recovered from the illness.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire was anticipating a Biden visit on Thursday to discuss the Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts but said the trip was canceled last-minute.

...

The president’s next scheduled trip is tentatively set for July 31, where Biden will travel with Vice President Kamala Harris to an yet [sic] to be disclosed location, according to the White House source.

He is then set to travel to Chicago the next day and then doesn’t have anything on the calendar until the DNC convention, per the source.

...

A White House official said Biden received virtual briefings on homeland security and national security from Rehoboth on Monday.

Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates told The Post on Sunday that Biden “looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people.”

The White House did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.

Biden also canceled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the United States this week to address Congress on Wednesday.  

The Post also delved into the concerns about how Biden has not been seen in public since he tested positive for COVID last Wednesday. Others have been alarmed about the way the president indicated he was withdrawing from the race online in a letter that was shared to X. 

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Despite these bizarre circumstances, the White House's Andrew Bates still insists that Biden "looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people." The claim about "historic results" has been a continuous theme, even and including after Biden announced he was dropping out. Republicans have meanwhile called for Biden to resign if he does not feel he is up to serving another term. 

Harris gave remarks on Monday, during which Biden supposedly called in and was put on speaker phone. As Matt covered earlier, however, such a call is seen as another "weird development" when it comes to Biden's departure from the race. If anything, it just may continue to raise questions.