The king was left naked.
Alone, outside the teleprompter that usually cushions his confusion and in front of a swarm of journalists who wanted to ask him about his mental health, Joe Biden inadvertently exposed, in an instant, all the
doubts about his mental health
.
Today he is going through one of the worst moments of his presidency, a fatal time that could cost him his re-election in November.
It all happened on Thursday, which will be remembered as a tragic day for Democrats.
In what should have been good news, Biden had been exonerated by the special prosecutor of the Department of Justice, Robert Hur, in the investigation into the mishandling of classified documents when he left the vice presidency.
There were no charges against Biden
.
But Hur described the president in his report as “a nice, well-intentioned old man with a bad memory.”
Even, he noted, “he didn't even remember when his son Beau died.”
In those few words, Hur struck
a sensitive and explosive chord
in this presidential campaign: Biden's mental health.
Today, at 81 years old, Biden is the oldest person to serve as president, he is the oldest to run for re-election and, if he is successful, he would be 86 years old at the end of his term.
Ronald Reagan, by comparison, was an unprecedented 77 years old when he finished his second term in 1989.
President Joe Biden faces growing pressure from his adversaries after a series of missteps.
Photo: AFP
Republican onslaught
With the report in hand, Republicans came out en masse to question the status of Biden, who with his stutter sometimes stumbles over words, but who has sometimes
confused characters
, citing, for example, a meeting he had with former French president François Mitterrand. (died many years earlier) and other similar gaffes.
Some opponents even mentioned the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which would revoke the president's mandate if he is mentally unfit.
When all that was talked about in Washington was that report phrase, Biden sought to control the damage and went out at night for an impromptu press conference at the White House with the intention of assuring Americans that his memory is fine. and that the Hur report was wrong.
Quite the contrary,
he was seen as obfuscated
, with emotional and wrong answers - when asked about Gaza
he confused the president of Egypt with that of Mexico
- which left even more doubts about his cognitive acuity and temperament when people were looking for stability and reasoning on the subject.
“The issue of Biden's physical and mental capabilities is the most serious deficit that threatens his re-election,”
Christopher Arterton, professor emeritus of Political Management at George Washington University, told
Clarín .
“Some of the phrases in the Hur report, which determined that he should not be prosecuted, touched the heart of this problem and went so far as to describe him with “diminished capabilities,” an analysis that goes beyond the expertise of the Special Prosecutor.
“This, combined with some recent mistakes, has brought to the fore the issue that Biden’s age harms his re-election prospects,” the expert added.
Joe Biden's slips give life to Donald Trump's campaign, which seeks to return to the White House.
Photo: EFE
Coup in the middle of the campaign
It was a real disaster for the campaign because it is the president's Achilles heel.
Even though the economy's numbers are doing very well, a remarkably wide swath of the American public, both Biden's supporters and detractors, express
growing doubts about his ability to govern
for another four years due to his age. .
An NBC poll last month found that 75% of Americans are “moderately or very concerned” about the president's age.
Those voters included 81 percent of independents and 54 percent of Democrats who said they were concerned about Biden's suitability for a second term.
“It is one of the darkest moments of Biden's presidency,” an editorial in
The New York Times
wrote on Friday.
The White House and several Biden allies tried to repair the damage and came to the president's defense, praising his ability to work, the ties he forged with other leaders to deal with international crises, or the achievements of his government.
Several pointed out that Hur crossed the line in his report and accused him of being politically motivated by pointing to his affiliation with the Republican Party.
It is not clear if this offensive will be enough.
Waiting on the other side is Donald Trump, who will surely be Biden's rival when he wins the Republican election.
At 77 years old, he had until now avoided directly attacking the Democrat on the issue, not only because he is part of his generation but also so as not to offend a good part of the Republicans who tend to be older than the Democrats.
He himself has made mistakes several times and confused characters.
But in a post this Saturday on the Truth Social network about the prosecutor's report, this time he referred to Biden's "hazy memory" and repeated his "Sleepy Joe" nickname from the 2020 campaign.
Alexander George Theodoridis, professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amhers, told
Clarín
that “the description of Biden in the Hur report is certainly not good news for the Biden campaign, since concerns about the president's age are already "They are dampening enthusiasm among their supporters."
And he adds an important fact: “In our latest national survey from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 37% of Democrats said they thought it would have been better for the United States and their party if Biden had stepped away from politics.
And 56% of Democrats say the rematch between Biden and Trump is bad for the United States.
These feelings are mainly due to the age of the candidates.
However, the elections are still about nine months away.
“Perceptions of Biden’s physical and mental ability will be determined primarily by what voters see of him as the campaign heats up.”
The impact of Biden's setback this week has not yet been measured in the polls.
But
the Democratic campaign must react quickly
because until now they had managed to keep the president competitive with very few meetings with the press (the president so far offered 86 press conferences and Barack Obama 422), with few interviews and with few unscripted interactions. with the audience.
One alternative is to take Biden out on the field and subject him to more unrehearsed contact with his voters and the press to demonstrate his competence in leading the country.
Although the risk can be very high.
C.B.