The preceding seven days were arguably the most challenging period for pro-abortion President Joe Biden. The press conference in particular was a significant source of contention.
President Biden had read his prepared remarks, taken a few questions, and then commenced his departure from the stage. The assembled press corps was vocal in its inquiries, prompting the president to pause.
I observed the event in real time and was initially skeptical about the veracity of the claim that the President would not be prepared. However, he proceeded to deliver a speech without the benefit of a prepared text. This was a misstep on the part of the President.
Even the New York Times editorial page was taken aback. The New York Times’ editorial page presented the following headline: “The Challenges of an Aging President.”
A remarkably broad swathe of the American public – both Mr Biden’s supporters and his detractors – have increasingly expressed doubts about his ability to serve another five years because of his age. As Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, noted: “In Times/Siena polling last fall, more than 70 percent of voters in battleground states agreed with the statement that Mr. Biden is ‘simply too old to be an effective president’. But the release of special counsel Robert K. Hur’s report on Thursday – and Mr Hur’s assessment that the president presents himself as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” – will inevitably test the American people’s confidence in their president.
The subsequent paragraph, which is characterised by a greater degree of sorrow than anger, is as follows:
Mr Biden’s performance at his press conference on Thursday night, designed to reassure the public that his memory was fine and to argue that Mr Hur was out of line, instead raised more questions about the President’s cognitive sharpness and temperament, as he delivered emotional and snappy retorts at a moment when people were looking for calm, even and capable responses to fair questions about his fitness.
In other words, his reassurances didn’t work.
The editorial concludes.
But the combination of Mr Biden’s age and his absence from the public stage has undermined public confidence. He looks like he is hiding, or worse, being hidden. The details in Mr Hur’s report will only heighten those concerns, which Mr Trump’s campaign is already exploiting.
This is a dark moment for Mr Biden’s presidency.
In his contributions to The Hill, Keith Naughton presents a consistently pessimistic perspective.
He asserts that Biden is in a precarious position, and that no statistical manipulation or optimistic prognostication can alter this reality. While a decline in the president’s standing in the national opinion polls is a cause for concern, it is his poor performance in key swing states that raises serious questions about his re-election prospects. The deficits are considerable, and Biden must retain Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in order to remain in contention. Given the relative stability of voter opinion, it is unlikely that there will be any sudden shifts in the near future.
What other items were released last week? A noteworthy contrast was observed between Biden and Trump. According to Shanthi Rexaline,
“Just 14% of registered voters surveyed in a recent NBC News national poll said Biden has done a better job as president than they expected. Forty-two percent said the president had done worse than expected, and the remaining 44% said he had done about as well as they expected.”
Trump?
The results pale in comparison to the numbers Trump received. A plurality of 40% said Trump had exceeded their expectations in terms of his performance as president, compared to 29% who said his performance was worse than expected and 31% who said it was in line with expectations.
In conclusion, further information will be provided tomorrow.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
