One handshake, one hug and one selfie at a time. If President Joe Biden could greet every American this way, longtime allies say, his approval ratings would soar.
FILE - President Joe Biden poses for photos after speaking about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Sept. 13, 2022. could greet every American this way, longtime allies say, his approval ratings would soar.
Aides say the 79-year-old has perfected his selfie arm, the products of which are widely shared on social media. The hard fact, politically, is that one-on-one warmth and empathy only go so far. They helped him forge bipartisan bonds in the Senate but from the White House, most voters, most of the time, only see the president in scripted or staged moments. Biden aides have sought out ways to show voters the president's private interactions, with behind-the-scenes videos of some of the encounters, even if they are unlikely to ever have a chance at one themselves.
“He’s going to take as much time as he wants," added Stephen Goepfert, Biden's former personal aide, or “body man.” Goepfert followed steps behind Biden at hundreds of events during the campaign and in the White House before he left in August. “I’ve seen him comfort people who were in tears talking about their personal hardships, console somebody who’s recently been diagnosed with cancer, honor a veteran servicemember with a handshake and one of his challenge coins, and also give a young person money for ice cream just for sitting through the speech — and all in the same rope line,” he said.
On another occasion, a brief Biden encounter with France’s deputy ambassador about their shared connections to Ireland yielded a touching letter to the diplomat’sAnnie Tomasini, director of Oval Office operations, and her staff track Biden’s interactions and coordinate the phone calls and letters that often follow rope line meetings. Some of these relationships have been going more than a decade.
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