Six days after initially announcing his positive COVID-19 diagnosis, President Joe Biden shared a video of his virtual speech to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives conference on Monday.
In the clip, the president both looked and sounded noticeably unwell.
Biden’s voice was much deeper than usual, and his facial expression looked like that of a confused child. But those were not the most shocking characteristics shown in the video.
During one 42-second section of the clip, Biden held his eyes wide open without blinking a single time.
Brave women and men in uniform across America should never forget that the defeated former president of the United States watched January 6th happen and didn’t have the spine to act.
In my remarks today to @noblenatl, I made that clear: https://t.co/pQ8E4IcZR1 pic.twitter.com/uO60QO0Wrz
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 25, 2022
While the clip shared on Twitter included multiple cuts, the 42-second section starting at 0:41 appeared to be unedited.
On average, people blink 15 to 20 times per minute, according to Healthline — so zero in two-thirds of a minute is odd.
To be fair, a lack of blinking does not inherently prove the president is unwell. However, there were many factors contributing to this perception.
Do you think Biden’s health is worse than he is letting on?
Biden’s eyes seemed to be forced wide open, as if he were actively struggling to keep them from closing. His blank stare seemed to be burning straight through the teleprompter into nothingness.
A longer version of his remarks released on the White House YouTube channel featured several long stretches in which he didn’t blink, along with many editing cuts.
These factors, combined with the president’s hoarse voice, showed a man who was not physically healthy.
Since Biden’s initial coronavirus diagnosis, the White House has been rather secretive about his condition.
The day after the diagnosis was made public, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions about why Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the physician to the president, did not speak to the news media.
REPORTER: “Why are we not hearing from Dr. O’Connor on this?”
KJP: “You’ve heard directly from him.”
REPORTER: “No we haven’t.”
KJP: “Yes you have. You’ve heard from the letter. That is hearing directly from him.” pic.twitter.com/OHbMqw9ke8
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2022
O’Connor said in a letter on Tuesday that Biden’s “symptoms have now almost completely resolved” and he “feels well enough to resume his physical exercise regimen.”
In addition to the president’s strange delivery, the content of his speech to NOBLE was incredibly questionable.
“You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-cop,” Biden said. “You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy. You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-American.”
First of all, the suggestion that insurrections are inherently undemocratic is false. If a day were to come when the government was acting tyrannically, Americans would be within their rights to stage an insurrection.
In addition, Biden was referring to the Capitol incursion of Jan. 6, 2021, which was hardly an insurrection.
Some people acted inappropriately that day, but they did not overtake the government. Congress’ vote to certify the election was slightly delayed, but they finished it later that night.
Overall, Biden’s speech was a complete failure. The content was demonstrably false, and he looked unwell while delivering it.
It was yet another weak showing from the president of the United States.
