Former Obama aides sound alarm over ‘frail’ and ‘mumbly’ Biden — warn his age ‘is a very real issue’
Former aides who worked directly with then-Vice President Joe Biden in the Obama administration have called current fears over his age “a very real issue” — with some alarmed at how he has become more “frail” and “mumbly.”
“If you watch Joe Biden speak, oftentimes he sounds frail and he sounds more frail than he used to, even in 2019 and 2020,” Jon Favreau, the chief speechwriter for Obama when Biden was vice president, said in a recent episode of the “Pod Save America” podcast.
“The voice sounds frail, and he shuffles more because of the arthritis in his back,” Favreau said, adding that the oldest-ever president also appears “mumbly.” Biden’s age is “a very real issue” and he appears “frail” and “mumbly,” former Obama aides have warned.
He noted polls showing as many as 80% of Americans have expressed concern about the president being 81 — saying it needs to be tackled head-on because voters can see his clear decline.
Even though the president has made an ever-growing series of gaffes and verbal stumbles, he needs to appear on camera even more if he’s to assuage voters’ concerns about his age — with his absence even worse, Favreau warned.
When world events seem like they are overtaking him and he’s not out there enough forcefully, that’s what’s getting people concerned,” Favreau argued.
Podcast co-host Jon Lovett, another ex-Obama speechwriter, agreed and argued that the Biden campaign should get the president out in public to demonstrate his mental and physical abilities — even if they are concerned that he will make more gaffes.
“I’m sure that going out there means more missteps … more gaffes that start circulating, but if you don’t view Biden being out there as a net positive, then the argument he shouldn’t be running is right.”
Meanwhile, former Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer expressed his own concerns in a separate interview.
“It is a very real issue,” he told Courier.
“If Biden can’t assuage, particularly among his voters from 2020, then I don’t think he can win the election — so in some ways, it’s the crux for his campaign.”
Pfeiffer said addressing Biden’s age should be the “first strategic priority” for the re-election campaign.
“There’s a segment of voters who have decided — as of right now, I think their minds can be changed — who have decided that Joe Biden is too old for the job and can’t do it, so they’re not going to listen to anything he says,” he said.
