Only 5% of Americans in their 70s have dementia. There’s no reason to assume Joe Biden is one of them, unless you’re looking for political ammunition.
Casual ageism is a staple of the conservative arsenal against the president, and it would be laughable except that it’s so insulting – not just to him but to two generations of seniors. Like the “big lie” that Donald Trump actually won the 2020 election and will be reinstated as president any day now, we now have the big lie that Biden, at 78, is muddled and incapacitated.
A relative told me he’s worried about the country because Biden just naps and watches TV all day, and no one is in charge. And where might he have heard that? Well, Tucker Carlson says Biden is senile and can’t think clearly. Sean Hannity calls him “President Sippy Cup” and says he’s lazy. A few days ago he reamed Biden for “enjoying another long weekend off in Delaware” instead of “working around the clock” at a command center to secure the release of Americans and allies still in Afghanistan. (I guess Hannity’s not familiar yet with the concept of remote work.)
‘This is a puppeteer act’
In a hospital waiting room last week with the TV tuned to Fox, I happened to catch the truly weird clip of Idaho Sen. Jim Risch trying to get Secretary of State Antony Blinken to admit Biden is controlled by someone authorized to turn off his mic to shut him up.
“He can’t even speak without someone in the White House censoring it or signing off on it. As recently as yesterday, in mid-sentence, he was cut off by someone in the White House who makes the decision that the president of the United States is not speaking correctly. I would like to know who this person is. This is a puppeteer act,” Risch said at a hearing on Afghanistan.
Blinken could barely suppress his amusement as Risch repeatedly demanded to know the identity of the mystery puppet master, and Blinken repeatedly replied that Biden is running his own White House.
Risch: “The media showed the American people his sentence was cut off in mid-sentence. Are you saying that didn’t happen?”
Blinken: “I really don’t know what you’re referring to. All I can tell you is … the president very much speaks for himself.”
Risch: “He does speak for himself but what happens when somebody doesn’t want him speaking?”
Blinken: “Senator, I’m telling you based on my own experience with the president over the last 20 years, heh, anyone who tried to stop him from saying what he wanted to say, speaking his mind, would probably not be long for their job.”
Here I should note that Risch, like Biden, is 78. And that I, like Blinken, would have been in the dark if not for that waiting room TV tuned to Fox. The big mystery turned out to be one of the “pool sprays” routinely listed on Biden’s advance schedule – a time when photographers get their video and stills at the start of a private event and then leave, at which point the audio…
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