Quite an eye-opening piece from the New York Times over the weekend strongly suggesting and implying that Joe Biden may simply be too old to run for re-election in 2024. Fears of appearing “ageist” aside, the Times notes that Biden has postponed trips due to exhaustion, and White House staff live in fear that he’ll trip over a microphone cable during a press briefing while he walks to the podium.
What’s going on here, exactly? Is Biden being set up to be pushed out of the presidency sooner rather than later? Even before stories like this started appearing in friendly liberal media outlets, the notion that Biden, currently at 79, would be running for re-election at age 81 is difficult to believe.
The Times article begins by noting the postponement of Biden’s Middle East trip which was originally scheduled to be part of the European trip back in January. The trips were broken up mainly due to the arduous schedule and the realization that a 79-year-old Biden may not be as spry as say, a 78-year-old Biden:
When President Biden leaves Tuesday night for a four-day swing through the Middle East, he will presumably be more rested than he would have been had he followed the original plan.
The trip was initially tacked onto another journey last month to Europe, which would have made for an arduous 10-day overseas trek until it became clear to Mr. Biden’s team that such extended travel might be unnecessarily taxing for a 79-year-old president, or “crazy,” as one official put it.
Aides also cited political and diplomatic reasons to reorganize the extra stops as a separate trip weeks later. But the reality is that managing the schedule of the oldest president in American history presents distinct challenges. And as Mr. Biden insists he plans to run for a second term, his age has increasingly become an uncomfortable issue for him, his team and his party.
What the public sees and what staff inside the White House and around Biden every day sees are two different things. Still, it’s impossible not to notice that the Biden in front of the camera each week is appearing frailer at times than he used to be.
Staff now fear that Joe Biden will trip and fall on level ground due to shuffling of his feet while he walks:
But they acknowledged Mr. Biden looks older than just a few years ago, a political liability that cannot be solved by traditional White House stratagems like staff shake-ups or new communications plans. His energy level, while impressive for a man of his age, is not what it was, and some aides quietly watch out for him. He often shuffles when he walks, and aides worry he will trip on a wire. He stumbles over words during public events, and they hold their breath to see if he makes it to the end without a gaffe.
Although White House officials insist they make no special accommodations the way Reagan’s team did, privately they try to guard Mr. Biden’s weekends in Delaware as much as possible. He is generally a five- or five-and-a-half-day-a-week president, although he is called at any hour regardless of the day as needed. He stays out of public view at night and has taken part in fewer than half as many news conferences or interviews as recent predecessors.
None of this is to specifically single out an elderly man for no reason. As the leader of the free world, Joe Biden is under a certain kind of scrutiny.
What this really comes down to is a realization among the Democratic Party institutions, like the New York Times, that Joe Biden cannot and will not be the future of the party in 2024. Months, perhaps even weeks ago, the Times wouldn’t have printed this story or would have done so in a way to leave out fears that Biden would trip over a wire.
On Sunday, though, they let the story rip as a warning that someone else needs to take the reigns for Democrats in 2024 because Biden simply cannot do it, either mentally or physically.
The painful video of Biden falling off his bike near his home in Delaware was difficult to watch but underscores exactly what the Times story is talking about.
While the Times tries to save face, quoting an expert that says Biden’s doing fine for his age, they then include a paragraph like this:
Mr. Biden’s public appearances have fueled that perception. His speeches can be flat and listless. He sometimes loses his train of thought, has trouble summoning names or appears momentarily confused. More than once, he has promoted Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her “President Harris.” Mr. Biden, who overcame a childhood stutter, stumbles over words like “kleptocracy.” He has said Iranian when he meant Ukrainian and several times called Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, “John,” confusing him with the late Republican senator of that name from Virginia.
Those are just some of his recent greatest hits that keep on playing. “President Harris” has been promoted to President several times by Joe Biden. It’s those kinds of things he has trouble saying clearly without tripping over the semantics.
The Times article, and many like it, are warning flags for Biden that he should seek alternate plans in 2024, like retirement. It’s inconceivable that he could run for re-election and take office again at age 82? Then be 86 when he leaves in 2028? Not likely.
The safe assumption is that after the midterms, the tone will change and Biden will soften his insistence that he’s running for re-election. The presidential race will begin in earnest in 2023 and Biden will have to announce he’s stepping aside to give a predecessor time to mount a campaign unabated.
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