President Joe Biden’s health and wellbeing has been one of his biggest bugbears since he was sworn into office over three years ago.
Prior to his longest continual appearance in front of the nation at last month’s presidential debate, criticism of the President’s cognitive ability had been somewhat limited to his fiercest Republican critics. That changed, quite considerably, when the mainstream media and even Democrats began questioning his ability as commander-in-chief.
Nevertheless, Biden has vowed to fight on and take the fight to Donald Trump in November. A string of public appearances may not have quashed concerns, but trusty White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has brushed aside fitness allegations by blaming the President’s wellbeing on seasonal illness and jetlag.
Common symptoms include tiredness, incoherence, and, of course, forgetting what gender and race one is.
That’s right, in a telephone interview with a Philadelphia radio station, Biden said he was the “first black woman to serve with a black president”:
The radio appearance (obviously) did little to silence Biden’s critics.
One commenter tried to decipher what the President actually meant.
Nevertheless, the post did little to ease concerns.
It’s hard to know whether Biden’s gaffes have increased in frequency, or whether there’s been more attention paid to them since the CNN debate. Nevertheless, fighting an election against a personality like Trump means the person will be in as much spotlight as the policies. If Biden’s gaffes only get worse, then as will his chances of re-election when the country goes to the polls in November.
