Tipsheet

Joe Biden Resurfaces After Five Days in Hiding

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  July 23, 2024 2:15 PM

President Joe Biden, following a bout of COVID-19 and days of uncertainty during which he announced he was quitting his 2024 re-election campaign, was finally spotted again in public on Tuesday afternoon as he made his way back from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to the White House. It was the first time the president had been seen by the public in five full days after last being seen deplaning Air Force One last Wednesday evening. 

The president could be seen slowly climbing out of a Secret Service SUV onto the apron at Dover Air Force Base before shuffling across the distance to the foot of the airstairs he used to board Air Force One.

In response to shouted questions about how he was feeling, it appeared that Biden responded "Well" and flashed a thumbs-up. The president did not respond to subsequent shouted questions about how he felt about bailing on his re-election campaign and whether he believed Vice President-turned-presumptive nominee Kamala Harris could beat former President Donald Trump in November. 

Notably, Biden was carrying a blue face mask in one hand despite the White House physician releasing an update on the president's health earlier in the day stating the commander-in-chief's "symptoms have resolved" and he had tested "negative" for COVID. 

As White House Physician Kevin O'Connor noted, Biden will continue to be monitored "for any reoccurrence of illness." Those who remember Biden's previous bout with COVID will recall that — after being treated with Paxlovid and testing negative — the president suffered from "rebound COVID" and needed to isolate again. 

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The White House also released an updated schedule for the remainder of the president's week including his Wednesday address to the nation from the Oval Office and meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. Biden will, once again, depart the White House on Friday afternoon for Camp David where he will remain until Sunday afternoon.