White House officials did not say when Mr Biden would make his first domestic trip, but said a typical President’s itinerary has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Sure, he would prefer to get on a plane and fly around the country, but that’s not the move we’re currently planning,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing last month.
Other senior administrative officials insisted that Mr Biden was ungrounded and would soon be traveling domestically, pointing out that he must safely make two trips to Georgia during the transition to the Democratic Senate candidate campaign.
Presidential travel is expensive and time-consuming, but it’s also essential to work, said former White House officials.
“It is important that people feel the presence and are aware of the fact that the president took the time to get to where they are,” said Podesta. “One of the things that underlies the deep divisions in the country are people who feel, ‘You have forgotten me. ‘Viewing changes that dynamic. “
Mr Podesta said it was vital for Mr Biden to travel to a joint congressional session this month, even if it means taking some health risks. “He’s going to come up with a lot of ideas about what needs to be built and he needs to go to some places where those things are built,” he said.
Given the pandemic and the politically fragile moment the country is in, the president’s historian Michael Decided that staying in Washington more often could work better for Mr Biden.
“The country was so excited after John Kennedy’s assassination that the new President Lyndon Johnson pledged not to travel abroad for a period of time,” he said. “Although Biden is close to the White House for a variety of reasons, that reminded me. I believe that seeing Biden in the State Dining Room and announcing how he’s dealing with one of the biggest problems at a time is more comforting than seeing him on the street in the middle of a pandemic and trying to find a crowd to talk to. “
However, once on the plane, Mr Biden cannot agree.
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