In a combination of verbal gaffes and motor coordination blunders dating back quite some time, U.S. President Joe Biden is raising questions as to whether he is fit for the presidency.
These occasions have become all too common as of late, resulting in literally half of his own political party to assert that Biden is too old to be President.
Clearly, age in itself is not necessarily the sole determinant in one’s fitness for office. These days, as modern medicine has increased the human lifespan considerably, nonagenarians who run marathons and lift weights are almost commonplace.
However, the President’s recent behavior–despite assurances by his doctors that he too lifts weights and bicycles regularly–has justifiably raised concerns.
Issues with keeping track of current events can be traced back to at least 2010 when he expressed condolences to the Irish Prime Minister regarding his mother’s passing…even though she was still alive.
In August of 2022–19 months after his inauguration as President–he referred to himself as the “Vice President.”
More recently–last month in fact–he spoke of having four grandchildren, when in actuality he has five. Also, just last week–while on a public relations campaign promoting his national infrastructure program, entitled, “Build Back Better”–he referred to the project as “Build Back Biden.”
His verbal eye-openers culminated most recently over this past weekend when–upon concluding his speech advocating gun control–he puzzlingly uttered the old adage, “God Save the Queen, man,” as he clearly seemed confused about which direction to exit the stage.
This brings us to the orientation, balance, and mobility aspects of Biden’s recent missteps.
In March, 2021, he stumbled three times in an attempt to ascend the steps of Air Force One. In July, 2022, while bicycling in his home state of Delaware, his feet became caught between the pedals and he suffered a resulting fall, though unscathed.
Last month at the G7 Summit in Japan, he once again lost his balance, this time while descending steps. Then, early this month, he tripped on-stage at the Air Force Academy commencement ceremony in Colorado.
Biden has never been known as a particularly eloquent speaker, but until recently, he had shown relative competence in this area (especially when compared to the interlocutory skills of the likes of Trump and G.W. Bush).
However, his word choice, pronunciation, conversational acuity, mannerisms, and stiff/shuffling gait have all justifiably raised conjecture that he might be suffering from the onset of various diagnoses.
God Save the President…