It’s no secret that President Joe Biden needs his name and address written on his hand in case he gets lost, but seldom is his mental decline called out by his own party and the press that enables him.
On Thursday, April 27, 2023, Biden was caught with his cheat sheet in his hand, preparing for a pre-submitted question about manufacturing from Los Angeles Times journalist Courtney Subramanian.
According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, it’s perfectly normal for presidents to be armed with answers to press questions well in advance. She denies that the reporters asking the questions are identified, however, and that it’s a generic list of questions and answers that reporters “may” ask.
As Jean-Pierre explains, “It is entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference and issues that we expect they might ask about.” She may be an awful press secretary, but apparently Jean-Pierre is a great psychic.
Unfortunately for her claim, today’s advances in photography framed the reporter’s name, thumbnail, and question in glorious technicolor.
For Biden, it’s safer to be prepared than to ramble off the rails as he does when he’s caught unprepared. It’s easier to arm him in advance than to prepare walk-backs after letting him off script.
But it’s not just cheat sheets that have Americans scratching their heads. It’s the constant lies, such as his claim that he was born in the same hospital where his grandfather had died two weeks earlier. In fact, his grandfather didn’t die in the same state where Biden was born and had died several years prior.
Or his claim of being a truck driver, or that he gave his uncle Frank a purple heart he had “won” during active duty in World War II. In fact, Life According to Biden has been very colorful, indeed, with an arrest during the Civil Rights Movement, his tough life in a blue-collar coal mining family scrabbling to make ends meet in Scranton, and who could ever forget Corn Pop?
Without guidance, Biden’s facts are skewed, his statistics inaccurate and deceitful, and he forgets what state (or even country) he is in. If he is this bad with cheat sheets tucked away by his wife in his pockets, how bad would it be if he was improvising?
In a Trump vs. Biden press showdown, Trump is the clear winner. During his tenure, he received questions from all reporters, frequently extended his briefings to ensure he could answer every question asked, often held spontaneous briefings if caught by reporters. and was seldom caught relying on anything in writing.
His answers, while frequently giving his party publicity nightmares, were spontaneous, clear, and concise regardless of the question.
Measure this against Biden, who is ushered off stage if anyone asks an unexpected question, is often inaccurate, rambles off point, and is increasingly incoherent. He refused to debate during the 2020 election cycle not because he himself was afraid to, but because those around him were afraid.
His gaffes are legendary, his lies too deep to be purposeful. It could honestly be that he truly is this cognitively impaired.
However, lawmaker Ro Khanna, D-CA, is claiming that the nation needs to see more of Biden, not less. “I think he’s actually really good. I think his staff overprotects him,” Khanna said during an interview on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom.
“I think, put him out there in a press conference. Who cares if someone makes a gaffe? Every person makes a gaffe in conversations. Let’s see the authentic President Biden. He’s an empathetic person. And I think the more he’s out there, the better.”
Conservatives couldn’t agree more. What the nation needs to see is more of Biden, winging through his press conferences without a cheat sheet, teleprompter, or staff intervention. It would be a real-time, non-stop, gaffe-ridden campaign ad garnering support for the Republican candidate.
Unfortunately, at a time when America needs a strong leader, it seems the only thing Biden can recall accurately is his favorite flavor of ice cream.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is your Democratic presidential hopeful for 2024.
