In a Democratic presidential debate in September 2019, Julian Castro thought he heard Joe Biden say something that contradicted himself, and he pounced on the opportunity to suggest that Biden was over the hill. “Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?” he demanded. “Are you forgetting already what you said just two minutes ago?”
Propelled by this moment of triumph, Castro went on to become a member of the board of directors of a Washington think tank. His humiliated opponent was never heard from again.
As it turned out, it was Castro who was confused about what Biden had said. If the 2020 campaign proved anything, it’s that underestimating Biden is dangerous. But Republicans persist in depicting him as a decrepit specimen who is wholly inadequate to his presidential responsibilities.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, expressed concern last month that the president was not doing cable news interviews or tweeting much. “Is he really in charge?” he tweeted. When Biden addressed Congress, Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed to hear “a 78-year-old man losing his grip.” Wall Street Journal columnist Holman Jenkins Jr. wondered if Biden is “a man of diminished capacities” who is “making himself a prop for an agenda that he may not quite grasp.”
This sounds eerily like what Biden’s detractors said about him during the campaign. First it was from the left, with supporters of Bernie Sanders putting out talking points insisting that Biden was in “obvious cognitive decline.” Sen. Cory Booker said, “There are definitely moments where you listen to Joe Biden and you just wonder.”
Biden somehow stumbled his way to the nomination, vanquishing a huge field of younger and supposedly sharper rivals (and an older one, Sanders). But that didn’t stop Republicans from insisting that he was conducting a mostly virtual campaign — “hiding in the basement” — not because of the pandemic but because he was too addled to appear in public.
Then-President Donald Trump predicted that if Biden should somehow win, “They are going to put him in a home, and other people are going to be running the country.” An editorial in The Wall Street Journal warned that Biden might “duck the debates” because “his handlers are trying to protect him from doubts about his cognitive capacity.”
But the Democratic nominee apparently was pulled out of his nursing home bed to participate in the debates. He managed keep his composure even in the chaotic first one, when Trump ignored the rules, bullied the moderator and interrupted Biden 73 times.
For a dementia victim, he did amazingly well. In fact, polls indicated that voters thought Biden got the best of Trump in all three faceoffs. He also won the election, over an incumbent president who called him "the worst candidate in the history of politics."
But critics continue harping on this losing theme. In March, Fox News contributor and The Hill columnist Joe Concha demanded to know why Biden hadn't held a press conference or given a speech before Congress. Biden has since done both, and handled both with competence and aplomb.
His foes still imagine that they can make people accept something that is plainly untrue. But Americans prefer to believe what they see with their own eyes. Biden's approval rating is higher than Trump's ever was, and an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday found that 64% of Americans are optimistic about the direction of the country.
The portrayal of Biden as disconnected from reality is particularly creative coming from people who shrugged off Trump's fantastical claims, nonstop lies, strange mispronunciations and unhinged rants. They had no problem with a Republican president who spent an outlandish amount of his time watching TV and fulminating on Twitter while neglecting the more important duties of his office.
The image of Biden as helpless is hard to reconcile with the parallel claim that he is ruthlessly transforming America into a woke Marxist dystopia. But conservatives square this circle by theorizing that Vice President Kamala Harris is actually running the show. Their paradoxical accusation: Biden is hiding to conceal the fact that he's not in charge, while Harris is hiding to conceal the fact that she is.
So far, their entire portrayal of this White House has failed to persuade anyone but the dishonest and the gullible. Meanwhile, Biden continues advancing an ambitious Democratic agenda that has broad public support. Sure, he's senile. Senile like a fox.
I think his ,”dementia ” act is a front, to give everyone that idea he is 1 pound short of a load, the ol demo-communist distraction game. Look over here not over there. He aint got me fooled, and with him being the GO TO PERSON for obama’s 3rd term. Yea I’d say he has fooled a lot of people, but sooner or later, these self apointed smart-a$$es trip their own selves up, and I hope for the sake of US , it is sooner. DON’T BLAME ME, I VOTED FOR TRUMP TWICE. MAGA
I don’t think he is smart enough to pull off a front. He shows every day his continuing mental decline.
Ray I agree with you 100%, Joe is an idiot.
Said public support is among the naive followers vs the rest of US Woke voters the 74M strong.
NOT buying Joes antics.
Being handled all the way day 1
Reads scripted messages
NOT creative
Worries more about masks
& Polling rigged his way
3 face offs? As I recall there were only 2. How about the border crisis that he created, won’t admit to and won’t go there and neither will his laughing appointed VP. A VP that was obviously Obama’s pick.
There are no good policies out of Biden. They won’t go to the border as it would expose the hell of his catch and release and there’s little if any news coverage of the debacle. He promised transparency but then there’s none! He’s back on the Green New Deal, touts infrastructure which is the smalles part of funding imaginable. He constantly fumbles and puts you to sleep when he does talk, which is rare and scripted and softball questions at best. When will he appear in a press conference and answer some hard ball questions? He just spoke yesterday and put everyone to sleep talking about infrastructure, And walks like he has a load in his pants. This was a huge puff piece on how great he is if ever I read one. If it wasn’t for the pandemic that allowed him to avoid so much public appearances he never would have been elected. Can’t wait to review his performance 4 years from now. Our enemies are laughing their asses off ever since his election.
When you walk like he does it guarantees he has a load in his depends.
You can make comments similar to the ones above all day long but sorry there are millions & millions of us know they are not accurate! Too many instances add up to a man that has some level of dementia! As for him winning the Democratic nominee, many people had already predicted that because he was one candidate that was considered moderate, and also he could be controlled or manipulated! By being moderate he would bring in more votes than a far left candidate, and with his memory problems it would be easy to replace him later on with the Vice President. Many had already figured out the Democrats’ plan! The problem with their plan now is their chosen VP seems to be not up for the task! She’s seems unqualified in so many ways so I think the handlers (ones behind the scene calling all the shots) have a mess of their hands! Also, think they never dreamed Trump would get so many votes which means they need to up their schemes (think most people know what I mean) or the 2020 election is going to turn things around tremendously. Thank goodness for more crackdown on voter laws! If we do not have true honest elections by only the citizens of our wonderful country, we can kiss many of our freedoms away! We want a government of the people not rulers or dictators!
Democrats are the luckiest sob’s on the planet.
Just another example of good things happen to bad people and BAD things happen to GOOD people.
“On Earth as it is in Heaven.” SCARY!!!!!!!!
This smells like demorat propaganda. The truth is that biden did not campaign. His handlers managed the whole thing, including using the cover of the ‘planndemic’ too flood the country with ballots which seemed to appear in all key states even after the official count was supposedly over. That he is ‘popular’ is nothing but a big lie!! His governance has been just an endless sequence of executive orders. His foreign ‘policy’ is a disaster. from Iran to Afghanistan. Sleepy Joe is no ace!!!
He is the visible leader and of the March to Communism. The proof is in the history, he is mastering it! If you are familiar with history
Oh yeah? Where is he succeeding with anything benefitting everyday Americans? He hasn’t done anything to benefit my family but plenty to hurt especially the young people in future years. How does raising taxes on Corporations and the “Rich” pay for all this mindless spending the Dems are doing? There isn’t enough money to pay for even half of all this crap he proposes. Hitler did some grandiose Infrastructure spending and built the Autobahn among other stuff too but this stuff needs continuous upkeep and that costs even more. Biden wants to expand Amtrak which has never made a profit and wind and solar are unreliable as we have seen in TX.
I still think that at some point Biden will be forced to take a physical, fail it, and be replaced. I’ve thought that before he was elected and I still believe it… though I admit, it’s taking longer than I believed it would.
Thanks to advances in medicine and judicious steroid use this failed leader can survive for about 1 yr. He will then retire, take his generous pension and give the reins to the VP laugher.
Trump was right again. You can see how tough it is for Biden to get out a sentence if he’s not reading it. He’s merely a front man for the Democrat party and it shows.
This is why Republicans fail at every turn. they concentrate their ire at the wrong things.
with hillary’s the e-mail with secrets that no one cares about. instead of her raising money from foreign powers and shaking down the same.
they worry more about Trump’s personality than what he stands for.
they do nothing and the libs have no fear of them. or respect.
Stop concentrating on Biden’s mental weakness he was never the sharpest tack in the box, concentrate on the bad policies and the results of same.
Suuuuure…and I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you. Beijing Biden’s spokesliar just admitted that she tells him not to take questions. I’m sure he’s been warned by his handlers about a great many things. That’s why he keeps insisting that he’s going to be “in trouble”. Can anyone imagine trying to handle the previous inhabitant of the WH …or telling him to NOT take questions? Old Joke is probably in the early stages of dementia, possibly Alzheimers. The deep state got exactly what they wanted. And they’re not worried, as he slips from one stage to the next,..perfectly content that His Fraudulency is on politician auto-pilot most of the time, while they pull the strings from behind the scenes…in their unelected and unaccountable, appointed positions.
To Steve Chapman, who are you? Right now I think Reagan is turning over in his grave. And the things you said about Trump right now I’m canceling my subscription to this ridiculous diatribe you put out and I’m calling Ben Schapiro
Biden is the worst president ever. Leading our great country by leaps and bounds into fascism. I guess in all the truth or reality his supporters are the changing demography of our great nation that once was, and are riding on hi Nazi coattails. Good by America as you once were.
A great deal of brain power is not required for Biden to continue to spew the same old pandering and leftist propaganda that Democrats have used for the last several decades. Where is a new plan to grow the economy through private investment and more people working, as opposed to more welfare and increased dependence on the government?
Anyone is better than Trump!
Apparently not Hillary, as she lost to him.
Are you better than Trump? How is your bank account and 401K doing? Are you doing better than Trump?
Biden isn’t running the show. This is Barack Obama’s 3rd term.. and he’s calling the shots. Anti American at that. This mess has to end and soon or we will become a full blown fascist state.
You liberals are an evil bunch of lunatics that want to destroy the freedom of Americans. We will never let y’all make America a socialist country.
The United States Military take an oath to protect the United States from her enemies foreign and domestic. So where in the hell are they. Our domestic enemies are raving the country, and the Military does nothing. Maybe it is time to start kneeling? But for a different reason.
You call broad public support 52%! One of the polls was good because all they polled was Dems. What a lot of the public supports is his giveaway programs. If they actually think for themselves they will see he and his administration are going to bankrupt the USA. I don’t consider myself ignorant or dishonest. Biden is a puppet for the far left socialist, they are pulling the strings. I do not think he even reads the script before hand when he makes a speech that his handlers put in front of him..
Do you actually think he cares about the border? The Dems along with Fake news want to dump all the illegals in our country and have taxpaying citizens pay the bill. The people that are coming in can not afford the coyotes and will be behold to them once they are located in the country. You think there is a crime problem now just wait!
A “senile” Biden is much more preferable to DeSantis (or Cruz and Cronin, “my” senators). Do you guys ever consider the common good? When addressing education issues, do you ever consider the students who are not in charter or private schools? In fact, do you ever consider listening to someone other than the corporate donors and the poll numbers that indicate which groups to cater to? Sure, the Dems and liberals are almost as guilty, but I’m very worried about the future of our democracy: we don’t listen, really listen, to one another; we don’t really give a damn about education, about history, about responsible journalism, about treating each other with dignity and respect. We don’t really give a damn about much of anything other than our freaking phones and who we see in the mirror. So … I try to focus best I can on being considerate of others, on doing what I can to respect/help those around me — unlike the Neanderthals from Jan. 6 who had absolutely no business shouting hypocritical crap like “U-S-A” or how “patriotic” they are. And all this labeling as “communists” those who disagree with you in the “Republican Task Force” is damaging, and, frankly, sad.
Question: why is my previous post, which was sent at 2:47 p.m., CDT, listed as being five hours later, 7:47 p.m.??? So is this “Republican Task Force” site, or “Inside Scoop Politics” really located in some European time zone? Smells a bit fishy …
Everyone knows the cause. His brain surgery from 1988 is not an act.
Joe is truly an empty suit being programmed by the far left to bring America to ruin. I pray God will protect our country until we can hopefully take back the House and increase the Senate majority to put some brakes on all of these Marxist policies and stupid Executive orders. He is NOT hosting a transparent administration, and he has NO desire to work “across the aisle.” We are losing our freedoms and our country’s values, traditions, and culture with their stupid “woke” nonsense. BLM and Antifa are nothing more than thugs wrecking havoc on society ,
and unfortunately not paying the price for any of the damage they do. The saddest part is that is is mostly the minority communities who can lease afford these thugs that are bearing the brunt of their vandalism. We must restore law and order and decency to our country in order to restore sanity, security and opportunities for all to our country.
Not a Duplicate Comment – Please Post
Joe is truly an empty suit being programmed by the far left to bring America to ruin. I pray God will protect our country until we can hopefully take back the House and increase the Senate majority to put some brakes on all of these Marxist policies and stupid Executive orders. He is NOT hosting a transparent administration, and he has NO desire to work “across the aisle.” We are losing our freedoms and our country’s values, traditions, and culture with their stupid “woke” nonsense. BLM and Antifa are nothing more than thugs wrecking havoc on society ,
and unfortunately not paying the price for any of the damage they do. The saddest part is that is is mostly the minority communities who can lease afford these thugs that are bearing the brunt of their vandalism. We must restore law and order and decency to our country in order to restore sanity, security and opportunities for all to our country.
For some reason when I wrote my original post, it wasn’t getting posted – I kept getting “duplicate post”. When I put ” This is not a duplicate post” – THEN they posted BOTH. !!
Total crap. Quid Pro Schmo is pretty much a traitor. Just his border insanity alone, which endangers national security, is a clear sign of sedition. On the docket, caving in to an arch enemy, Iran, just like Mullah Obama did. That too is sedition. Nice try. Maybe you should get out more!
My father struggled with Alzheimer’s for 8 years. I recognize the symptoms and Biden displays them all. You could sit down and talk to my dad for at least 15 to 20 minutes and then all the signs would begin to occur: stumbling over his words, repeating sentences, asking the same question that had been asked 5 minutes before etc. Biden may be in the beginning stages or perhaps a little further down the road, but he is in NO WAY capable of leading the country and everyone knows, he is NOT leading the country. Shame on his wife, Shame on his family, for allowing this to happen not only to a husband, brother and father but even more Shame on the Democratic Party who are well aware of Biden’s failings. The American people deserve better and it certainly isn’t Camilla.
Damage control until 2022. Let’s paralyze all of them by taking back the House and Kicking Nancy to the curb as well as the Senate.
To continue to speculate is wholesale mental gymnastics wasted for nothing.
We need to concentrate all our efforts into getting our foot back in the door.
Simple …. we’re being manipulated by swamp creatures.
Total crap. Quid Pro Schmo is pretty much a traitor. Just his border insanity alone, which endangers national security, is a clear sign of sedition. On the docket, caving in to an arch enemy, Iran, just like Mullah Obama did. That too is sedition. Nice try. Maybe you should get out more!
In your dreams Inside Scoop. Same crap fake news as you post on FB.
Biden is a sad example of “American excellence”.
Joe is Bernie. Sanders is Biden. Se the simmalarities.