I went trick-or-treating with the Bidens. The most terrible thing there was the president

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One of the lesser-known duties of White House reporters is spending one day per month in the presidential pool. The pool consists of a rotating group of reporters who accompany the president whenever he makes public appearances at the White House or in the Washington, D.C. area. When you're awake, you're awake – and you don't find out which event you'll be attending until hours before the event.

With the election only six days away, I was called in on Wednesday. And because folding means a lot of time waiting – for security checks, for the president and anyone else who needs to prepare for a public appearance, etc. – I spent much of the day planning our strategy for election week.

With President Joe Biden not taking part in the election this year, having surrendered the Democratic nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris, he was able to spend his Wednesday with a particularly tight schedule. In the morning he welcomed Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to the Oval Office.

This gave me and my other colleagues gathered that day the opportunity to shout questions at Biden about an unfortunate remark he made the night before, when he appeared to call supporters of former President Donald Trump “trash.”

Biden had said in a post (The White House says he was only referring to a comedian who sparked outrage when he called Puerto Rico, an American territory, a “floating island of garbage.”) So the president didn't respond to us , when we started asking questions. and we were quickly escorted out of the Oval Office.

Biden's reluctance to get involved wasn't exactly a surprise. He has largely been kept off the campaign trail because he is remarkably unpopular, with approval ratings hovering in the high 30 percent.

In the hours after the president's faux pas The Independent reached out to several Democratic activists and strategists to gauge whether this would have an impact on the race. A Harris campaign official responded with a GIF of The Simpsons Character Sideshow Bob repeatedly steps on rakes and is hit in the face. Another longtime Democratic campaign pro responded with another GIF of Trump himself saying “no.”

But for Harris insiders — many of whom were once Biden insiders — the octogenarian CEO's inability to stay informed and not damage Harris' campaign is a sad end for a man who spent his entire life serving his country spent just to… He saw his abilities diminish to the point where he simply could no longer compete for the office he had aspired to his entire adult life.

Biden didn't campaign much in the early days of the Harris movement. But the White House has refused to consider derailing the president in these final days. Instead, he was sent to his hometown of Scranton and the all-important Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia. Nevertheless, everyone is obviously afraid of risking another faux pas.

When I was called to the only other public event on Biden's schedule yesterday, I was not surprised that he had no opportunity to answer questions or speak publicly.

Accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, the president spent about an hour handing out candy to children at the annual Halloween celebration at the White House. Organized by the East Wing, it was a light-hearted trick-or-treating event that featured a variety of costumed characters, including Darth Vader and two Star Wars stormtroopers, Lilo and Stitch (of Disney fame) and Barney the Big Purple One Dinosaur that was ubiquitous in some millennials' childhoods (and a nightmare for their parents).

There were ghosts, goblins, witches and wizards who roamed the South Lawn. Even the first lady got in the spirit of the holiday by dressing up as a panda, a nod to the recent arrival of two of the cuddly creatures at the Smithsonian National Zoo earlier this month. At one point, the president playfully bit the leg of a child dressed like a turkey.

It was all very sweet and heartwarming in its own way, even as the country descended into harsh rhetoric and division in the background.

But for the anxious Democrats and the seasoned professionals who have switched from Team Biden to Team Harris for this unprecedented election, the most frightening thing about 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was the 81-year-old in a perfectly pressed blue suit.