The Biden Campaign called a “lid” on the campaign trail by 9:20 a.m. Thursday morning, meaning the 77-year-old Biden will not make any in-person or media appearances for the rest of the day. This marks the ninth day this month the campaign has halted access to their candidate before noon with only 40 days to go until the Nov. 3 election.
Biden has called a lid for the day.
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 24, 2020
As of 9:20am, Joe Biden’s campaign called a lid, meaning he won’t be holding any public events today. He said yesterday that today would be dedicated to debate preparations, telling reporters, "I've started to prepare but I haven't really gotten into it heavily."
— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 24, 2020
Despite the campaign’s claim that Biden is beginning “formal debate prep” on Thursday, lids were still issued on eight other days in September without an explanation or specific reason.
TODAY: @JoeBiden's campaign called a lid for the day at 9:20 a.m. He has no public events on his schedule, but on Wednesday he said that his formal debate prep would begin today.
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) September 24, 2020
— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) September 24, 2020
While President Donald Trump spent the month traveling around the nation hosting rallies as well as managing his presidential duties including historic peace deals and nominating a Supreme Court justice, Biden’s campaign called a lid more than one third of the 24 days currently in September, halting his public activities and availability for the entire day.
Overall, Biden has called 9 lids in 24 days in September. We're less than 6 weeks to the election.
President Trump again has a packed schedule today, culminating with an event in Charlotte, NC and a rally in Jacksonville, FL tonight.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) September 24, 2020
This is every day so far in the month of September that the Biden Campaign has called a full lid before Noon pic.twitter.com/dqdJlqdjMc
— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) September 22, 2020
The lids, reported by those covering the campaign trail, are often called on short-notice instead of announced as part of the campaign’s schedule. The frequency and lack of notification of the lids until the last minute raises questions about Biden’s ability to campaign, especially on days when there would normally be ample opportunity for a Democratic campaign to make headway such as in the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
I'm no political campaign expert, but wouldn't a presidential candidate generally know tomorrow's schedule at least a day in advance? Calling a lid first thing in the morning seems . . . unplanned. Almost as if you need to see how the candidate is doing that day.
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) September 24, 2020
45 days until the election and Joe Biden’s campaign calls a lid at 8:35AM.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 19, 2020
This is where the Democrat nominee goes out. Gives a speech on her legacy and the need to push forward etc. etc. etc..No nominee until after election etc.. Every network would carry it.
Instead…nothing. Again, bizarre.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 19, 2020
.@edokeefe reports the Biden move to lay low may seem “odd or misguided”, but his team disagrees.
A senior aide said, “We’ve been through some high-pressure times before and we’re always deliberate about how we respond…People will question our tactics and we’ll do our thing.”
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) September 19, 2020
Trump criticized the frequency of Biden’s lids, comparing Biden’s days off to Trump’s own hectic campaign schedule.
“Lid means he’s not going to be anywhere today. I’m working my a** off. I’m in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin,” Trump said at his rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night.
https://twitter.com/TeamTrump/status/1308560028144668672?s=20
Compared to Trump, Biden and his campaign have significantly lagged in participating in on-the-ground campaign activities. Whether it is holding fewer rallies with fewer attendees or refusing to take questions from reporters, Biden’s lack of eagerness about his campaign is not lost on voters.
According to Dr. Kaycee Sink, an assistant professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, those struggling with cognitive decline can have “good and bad days.”
“Symptoms in dementia can wax and wane; people have good and bad days. Pain, changes in routine, and illnesses such as viruses or infections are all examples of things that can make symptoms worse temporarily,” Sink writes.
A study published by the Cambridge University Press found that symptoms of cognitive decline such as trouble formulating words were often associated with “bad days” and could lead to lower functioning.
“Good days were typically associated with improved global cognition, function, interest, and initiation. Bad days were associated with frequent verbal repetition, poor memory, increased agitation, and other disruptive behaviors,” the study stated.
