Vague descriptions of presidential signing ceremonies, policy meetings and industry executive sit downs â mostly behind closed doors â began peppering President Donald Trumpâs public schedule at the end of last year.
The additions to the schedule, which is blasted out to the media every night, were no accident. Trump himself had given the directive to beef up the information.
Despite near-daily appearances before cameras, some of them stretching for hours, Trump, 79, had become frustrated at a perception â fueled by analyses of his daily public schedules â that his days were lighter now than during his first four years in office. In his mind, it only contributed to questions swirling about his health and stamina, sources said.
Shortly after, his team began noting private meetings on the daily schedule sent to reporters and posted online. Aides said the goal is to better reflect what they believe are jam-packed days. Theyâve also started listing meetings and interviews that typically wouldnât appear on the public calendar.
Some, like âPolicy Timeâ or âSigning Time,â located in the Oval Office, offer few details. Trump, who has insisted he will never use an autopen to sign documents, often has stacks of papers awaiting his signature.
The additions to Trumpâs public schedule were his idea, multiple sources told CNN. Long wary of appearing to slow down, despite his advanced age, Trump personally asked that more events be listed on his schedules.
He had been enraged after a November article in The New York Times suggested his aging was impacting his job. The newspaperâs analysis of Trumpâs official public schedules found his total number of official appearances had decreased by 39% compared to his first year in office in 2017, that his events were starting later on average, and that he had taken fewer domestic trips.
The president wanted it to be known that even if his public schedule didnât always reflect it, he was still holding meetings and working throughout the day, sources said. Some meetings that otherwise would have gone unlisted have begun to show up on the public schedule, including closed-door sessions with Cabinet officials, executives and outside visitors.
When asked about the changes to the schedule, the White House provided a weekâs worth of his private daily schedule, detailing meetings and phone calls that took place between January 5 and January 9, often from early morning until late in the evening.
In total, the private calendar included 61 phone calls, 67 meetings and several other events. While names were removed, the calls included foreign leaders, CEOs, media personalities, lawmakers and members of his administration, as well as calls with his family.