President Joe Biden appeared dazed and confused as he left the podium following remarks at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York City on Wednesday.
As the crowd was applauding his speech, Biden shuffled zombielike away from the podium. He stopped, looking for direction from one of his handlers, appeared to catch the eye of a staffer, and pointed down. He paused once again, then looked quickly back at the stage where a speaker was thanking him for his address.
RNC Research posted a clip of the incident on Twitter with a reminder of what Biden had told CBS News’ Scott Pelley during a “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday night.
“Watch me if you think I don’t have the energy level or the mental acuity.” — Biden, 4 days ago https://t.co/laLUEzA0Dt
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 21, 2022
“Some people ask whether you are fit for the job. And when you hear that, I wonder what you think,” Pelley said.
“Watch me,” the 79-year-old Biden responded. “And honest to God, that’s all I think. Watch me. If you think I don’t have the energy level or the mental acuity, then — then, you know, that’s one thing. It’s another thing, you just watch and — and, you know, keep my schedule. Do what I’m doing.”
Pelley followed up by asking, “How would you say your mental focus is?”
“Oh, it’s focused,” the president said. “I’d say it’s — I think it’s — I — I haven’t — look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, my own head, the number of years. I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly.”
Full video of the Global Fund event provided additional context for Biden’s actions. After the president ended his address, he remained onstage as he listened to the speaker. After one minute and 45 seconds of remarks, the speaker invited several attendees, including Biden, to the stage for a photograph.
Regardless of whether he was supposed to remain on stage for the photo op, his behavior can at best be described as extremely awkward. And while we obviously don’t know what the president was experiencing at the time, the optics were pretty bad.
We’ve seen Biden stumble over words, lose his train of thought in the middle of a sentence and speak gibberish. But has he ever looked this lost?
Did his handlers, who typically micromanage his every move, fail to anticipate he might not know what to do when his speech ended?
During a June meeting at the White House, a camera happened to catch a small notecard in Biden’s hand. An enlargement of the photo showed the card contained a series of instructions for him to follow.
Next time someone tries to tell you Joe Biden isn’t a geriatric nursing home patient trapped in the White House, show them this.
He needs a notecard with step by step directions telling him what to do, including “YOU take YOUR seat”.
This is beyond embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/GRMbgpcrEq
— Benny Johnson | Meme-Attack Survivor ✊?✊?✊?✊? (@bennyjohnson) June 23, 2022
Two weeks ago, the president and first lady Jill Biden went to the British Embassy in Washington to sign the condolence book for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Rather than composing his own heartfelt message as any adult would, he pulled out a type-written notecard, surely prepared by an aide, and copied the contents into the book.
Biden continues to show signs of cognitive decline two months before his 80th birthday, and it has become a national security issue.
A man who can’t navigate his way off a stage is incapable of running the country.
Which only raises the question: If Biden isn’t calling the shots, who is?
