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By Rachel Dobkin
Weekend Reporter
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Michael LaRosa, former press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden, criticized the "scripted" protection of President Joe Biden from age-related blunders.
Age and mental acuity have been a major talking in the upcoming election as Biden is 81 years old and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, is 78. While both have been subject to criticism over speech gaffes and other mishaps, Biden has faced the most scrutiny.
Eyebrows have been raised in the past over Biden opting out of high-profile interviews, such as the Super Bowl interview that would've aired during the pregame show in February. Many assume that Biden's public exposure has been limited to avoid age-related blunders, New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker reported in the article published on Wednesday.
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Biden advisors told CNN at the time that Biden skipped out on the Superbowl interview to give Americans a break from political talk as people were expressing election news fatigue.
LaRosa told Baker that Biden seems too "choreographed" and that it takes away from his "superpower."
"Everything looks and feels so choreographed, scripted and controlled that it doesn't afford him the opportunities to show off his strengths—humor, empathy and compassion," LaRosa said. "Relatability is his superpower, but you can only relate to someone when their humanity is exposed. That means flaws, mistakes and everything else that comes with imperfection."
Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign and LaRosa via email for comment.
Biden has maintained a presence on the campaign trial. In March, he visited eight swing states in 18 days, according to MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire. He has also appeared on MSNBC and did an interview with Time magazine in late May.
Both Biden and Trump will have to bring their a-game to CNN's presidential debate stage tomorrow night as all eyes will be on them.
According to a poll from The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted between June 20 to 24, 57 percent of U.S. adults are extremely or very likely to watch at least some of the debate live or follow-up commentary about it. The poll surveyed 1,088 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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