Once more, the White House was forced to take damage control measures to allay worries regarding Biden's age.
It's the persistent danger that President Joe Biden's campaign for reelection can never completely overcome.
In light of the fact that the race is becoming more intense by the day and that the 81-year-old commander in chief is leaving for a taxing overseas trip, the White House was forced to launch a new damage control operation on Wednesday.
The most recent incident was brought on by a Wall Street Journal piece that quoted accounts of the president's fitness and mental health from what it said were more than 45 interviews with Democrats and Republicans, descriptions of which the White House has refuted. In one meeting, the president was said to have spoken about Ukraine so gently that some of the attendees found him nearly impossible to understand. Some sources questioned whether he had complete control over important aspects of his own plans.
Democrats charged that Republicans who were quoted or included in the report were deliberately misrepresenting facts and denying earlier assertions in order to harm Biden's political standing. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, for example, expressed dissatisfaction on X over the Journal's failure to incorporate her remarks regarding the president's active participation in a meeting on Ukraine in January.
This year, Biden has been able to defuse past controversy around his age and talents thanks to a strong public performance during his State of the Union speech in March. He exceeded Republican expectations to such an extent that some in the party erroneously went from characterizing him as ailing and inept to speculating that he might be under the influence of drugs.
However, all it takes to rekindle the craze about Biden's age is a single halting on-camera moment or media story. As soon as the president made the decision to run for a second term, which would start when he is 82 and end when he is 86, this was bound to happen.
Biden's medical professionals have deemed him fit for duty, but his crew routinely brushes off any questions about his ability. Democrats frequently argue that the media has exaggerated this issue while pointing out that Donald Trump, the likely GOP nominee, is also not a young man—he will turn 78 next week. The Wall Street Journal piece in question might be a Beltway drama that most voters aren't thinking about. However, Biden's age worries them.
For example, 86% of respondents to an ABC News/Ipsos survey conducted in February said that Biden was too elderly to hold public office again. This comprised 27% of Americans who believed that only Biden was too elderly and 59% of Americans who believed that both he and Trump were too old.
Additionally, voters can observe it for themselves. In office, the president has obviously slowed down. Even as a clumsy senator and vice president, he does tend to talk quietly and mumble more than he used to. One of the most demanding jobs in the world, the position of commander in chief never truly has a day off and requires making life-or-death choices all the time.
Another extremely delicate topic is public conjecture over the president's ability, which is frequently promoted by pundits lacking medical training. The humiliations of aging are something that millions of Americans have experienced. That might win Biden some sympathy, but it's also the reason why many people are wary of an octogenarian leading the country.
Biden is unafraid of his powers
When questioned if he is too old to be president or if he would be late in his second term when he would reach his mid-80s, Biden, who was once among the youngest senators in US history and is currently the country's oldest sitting president, becomes irritated. "I am more capable than anyone you know at doing it. In a recent interview with Time Magazine, Biden joked, "You're looking at me, I can take you too." "Observe me. Tell me of a president who has accomplished as much as I have in my first three and a half years of office.
Time's main Washington bureau reporter Massimo Calabresi reported that Biden "looked very much like he does on TV" during their meeting and that "he is older than when he started in office." If you simply look side by side on the tape, you can see it. Calabresi described the President as "cutting a striking contrast with the intense, loquacious figure who served as Senator and Vice President, with his stiff gait, muffled voice, and fitful syntax."
“The fact that Biden is up against a 77-year-old makes the age question more nuanced. Even though he's nicknamed "Sleepy Joe," Trump seems more animated than his successor, yet throughout his criminal trial in New York, the former president frequently seemed like he was nodding off. In addition to his fiery temperament and detachment from reality, the Trump of the campaign road raises further red flags. However, Trump and Biden have recently made absurd public remarks, erroneously named individuals, and mishandled names."
When Fox News' Sean Hannity questioned Trump on Wednesday over the Wall Street Journal story, the president stated, "We have a chance of going into World War III because of our leader." I thus don't want to discuss his current condition of affairs," he continued. "It's not something for me to comment about." The former president continued, saying that Biden lacked the "mentally sharpness" necessary for the position and that "I don't think he was 20 years ago, either."
Office fitness is frequently a subjective concept. Republicans who claim Biden is too weak argue that there is no reason the twice-impeached felon should not be able to retake the presidency, especially since he has imitated Nazi rhetoric and pledged to use his position as president to exact personal "retribution" on his adversaries. Biden is concentrating more and more on Trump's mental state. In recent fundraising events, he has told audiences that Trump is "clearly unhinged" and that "something snapped" after the 2020 election.
Is Biden still "savvy and effective" or has he slowed down?
Anecdotes concerning the president's concentration in meetings were highlighted in the Journal piece with the headline "Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping." Republicans and Democrats alike reportedly remarked that he has slowed down, that his enthusiasm and engagement have changed, and that he has good and bad days. Nonetheless, the Journal pointed out that Republicans made up the majority of those who disapproved of Biden's performance.
"He's not the same person," former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was cited in the article as saying. The Journal reported that current House Speaker Mike Johnson was concerned that the president "had slipped about the details of his own policy," citing six sources who had been informed of the speaker's opinions. (The White House refuted Biden's misstatements during the conversation.) Both speakers lack objectivity as observers. Both have a political stake in supporting Trump's assertions that Biden is too elderly or incompetent to serve.
"Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders, and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment," the White House said in a statement in response to the Journal story. "Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues," White House spokesman Andrew Bates continued.
As of right now, there is no proof in the public domain that Biden is incapable of handling the most difficult responsibilities assigned to him, which include making critical choices that will protect the nation's security, particularly during crises and emergencies. But the part of the president that deals with the public is equally significant. It is impossible for a reasonable person to overlook the fact that Biden has changed from being a vibrant, room-filling force to someone else.
There had been an age-related frenzy before Biden and his aides took a break from answering queries about their age following his barnstorming State of the Union speech. Biden was characterized as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” in special counsel Robert Hur's report from February regarding his handling of sensitive documents. A transcript of the meeting revealed Biden to be intermittently agitated and looking for dates. However, the encounter as a whole refutes Republican allegations of severe cognitive impairment.
But after the study came a terrible press conference that exacerbated rather than resolved age-related concerns. "I am aware of what the hell I am doing," declared the president. However, he once made a mistake that made matters worse when he meant to speak about the president of Egypt when he made a speech regarding the Middle East crisis and instead stated, "the president of Mexico." François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl, two deceased European presidents, were mentioned by Biden twice in February when discussing his discussions with their contemporary counterparts.
The long road leading up to the election in November will try Biden's endurance. He has the kind of schedule that would wear anyone out in the upcoming weeks. After arriving back from France on Sunday, he is anticipated to travel to California to raise money before flying over the Atlantic once more for the G7 conference in Italy the following weekend. At eighty-one, it's a large lift, even for someone with a private aircraft.
Then, on June 27, he and Trump will square off in what promises to be the most significant test of a sitting president's skills on live television since a much younger Ronald Reagan faced comparable questions during his 1984 reelection campaign. This marks the most crucial stage of his reelection campaign thus far.
Presidents are extremely powerful. However, even they are powerless to undo the effects of aging. Thus, it won't be long before Biden is asked to reaffirm that he is still eligible to serve.
