When Joe Biden launched his 2024 campaign for reelection, the New York Post scoffed, “Americans say… He’s already lost it”. The notion that the oldest president in US history is suffering from cognitive decline is well-entrenched. White House insiders say Biden frequently chirps, “I feel younger than my age”, but they have to admit he doesn’t look it. He has fallen off his bike, nodded off at summits, mangled his words and has been using a short, baby staircase on Air Force One after too many stumbles. He needs large-lettered cue cards to stay on message and repeats favourite stories inadvertently. That is just for starters. He will be 86 by the end of a second term in office.
Every gaffe and slip has been recycled on social media and Trump-friendly talk shows. The podcast star Joe Rogan has accused Biden of being “basically a shell” who “can’t talk right anymore”. The message has got through. A Washington Post/ABC News poll on January 14 showed that only 28 per cent of respondents thought Biden, 81, had the “mental sharpness” to be an effective president, a diagnosis that explains why his approval ratings remain stubbornly in the doldrums. In contrast 47 per cent thought Donald Trump had the mental acuity to serve. Figuratively, Trump may be mad as a box of frogs with a maniacal energy that powers his campaign, but he has not been regarded as doddery or borderline senile. Until now.
