Enough denialism: Democrats (and their media enablers) need to face the facts on President Biden’s cognitive decline.
After The Post reported on Biden wandering away from the pack of G-7 leaders watching a parachuting demonstration, the White House jumped into “fake news” mode; Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates called it a “lie,” claiming the prez was just “saying congratulations to one of the divers and giving a thumbs up.”
Thing is, Biden wasn’t supposed to do that, but to stay with the group, an instruction every world leader but him seemed to remember.
“He went to go and shake all their hands,” explained UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“Because they had all landed. And he was being very polite,” but “we were meant to stand in one place rather than go and say hello individually.”
Fine. There is nothing usually wrong with going a little off-script. But what was most telling was the “what is he doing?” reaction of his peers: Video shows them looking concerned and confused by Biden’s behavior, as they all shuffled to close the gap with him until Italy’s Giorgia Meloni steps in to guide him back to the group.
The reaction of Biden’s media surrogates and the fact-checking snarks smacks of a desperation to prove to the world that the president has the energy of a 40-year-old five months out from an election.
But everyone on left and right must ask themselves: Is this who Americans want representing them on the world stage?
Is this who should be making critical decisions that affect not just our nation, but the world?
Nor was this the only incident at the summit: G7 sources told The Sun that Biden has been “losing focus” and is “the worst he’s ever been.”
In isolation, you could chalk this up to a patch of heavy travel: The president just flew to Normandy for the D-Day anniversary, then back home, then across the Atlantic again for the summit.
Blame the obvious brain fog as an 81-year-old with jet lag, in other words.
And blame his staff for putting him through this punishing schedule, apparently in hopes of showing that he’s spry as ever — something that every poll shows the voters severely doubt.
But being unfocused, disoriented and forgetful is no longer the exception for Biden, it’s the rule.
His decline is starting to scare even his staff and Democrats in DC, some of whom told The Wall Street Journal that he sometimes speaks so softly that he can’t be understood, increasingly relies on notes and aides in meetings and at times closes his eyes for so long that it seems he’s fallen asleep.
And then there are the many, many cases of him getting confused in public: In February, for example, he mixed up French President Emmanuel Macron with ex-prez Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996 — and claimed that German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, spoke with him in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s “explanation” was such mistakes happen “to all of us.” They do?
Anyway, they “happen” to this president all the time, and with increasing frequency.
How long will Democrats try to get away with denying what Americans can see happening right in front of them?
Remember: We didn’t see him on the usual campaign trail in 2020; COVID gave his handlers an excuse to keep him largely home-bound.
And that was before 3½ years in a job that has seriously aged every man who’s held it; even Biden’s frequent days off and early “lids” (most days, the White House press corps gets told he’s done by mid-afternoon) can’t ease that burden much.
Those closest to him should be stepping in at this point; instead, First Lady Jill Biden pushes back against the idea of Biden even taking competency test, calling it “ridiculous.”
Maybe the White House staff think they’re being loyal by taking the “don’t believe your lying eyes” approach; maybe they’re just too in love with their own perks and power.
Heck, after years of insisting that the border is “under control,” inflation is “transitory” and the Afghan bugout was a “success,” maybe they think that spin actually changes reality.
Whatever it is, to any outsider it looks downright cruel to keep trotting Biden around under the pretense that he can possibly serve four more years in the world’s most grueling job.
How much longer must we bear this grim charade?
