Joe Biden is attending a G7 meeting in Hiroshima. I haven’t noticed that the event has made any news, with one exception–people are commenting on Biden’s decrepitude. The New York Post:
A confused-looking President Biden had to be gently guided by Japanese leader Fumio Kishida on Friday — before tripping and almost falling down some stairs.
The oldest-ever US president looked confused as first lady Jill Biden led him by the hand to meet his Japanese counterpart and his wife for a photo op in Hiroshima ahead of the Group of Seven summit there.
After shaking Kishida’s hand, Biden, 80, turned his attention to the prime minister’s 58-year-old wife, Fumio Kishida — bizarrely bending over with clenched fists, as if in a boxer’s pose, before also shaking her hand.
Kishida, 65, then began leading the US dignitaries to prearranged spots to pose for photos — eventually jumping in to politely guide Biden to his place as the president shuffled slowly over and looked at the ground in clear confusion as to where he was supposed to stand.
“We’ll figure it out,” the first lady joked as she and their hosts patiently waited for the aging commander-in-chief to work out where he should stand.
Here is Biden trying to navigate the steps:
And here he is being guided into position by the Prime Minister, looking clueless and decrepit:
What is noteworthy is not so much Biden’s near-stumble–it’s not hard to catch your foot going down a flight of stairs, and he didn’t fall down–or apparent lack of spatial and social awareness. What is noteworthy is that everyone is on the lookout for signs of mental and physical decline. The idea that Biden is too old and too mentally and physically degraded to be president has taken hold. Poll data suggest that most people think Biden is not up to the job of being president, and of course they are right. With Americans’ eyes on Biden, every stumble is magnified.
Biden can’t overcome this fatal perception. He can’t get younger, smarter, or more physically vigorous. Voters’ conviction of his inadequacy will only grow. Hence the Democrats’ desperation: they can hardly trot Biden out again in 2024; in fact, they can’t count on him to last that long. But they don’t have anyone else.
So for now, the only thing they can come up with is to talk about Trump.
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