Back in June of 2022, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about President Biden's physical and mental stamina in a CNN interview. She infamously laughed off the question, calling it unworthy of even being asked, and claimed that she "can't even keep up with" the president and his vigorous schedule. The following summer, she said something very similar, again on CNN. "It is hard for us to keep up with this president," she asserted, repeating an obvious lie that nobody believed at the time. Biden is now even older. Eighty-six percent of voters say he's too old for the job. The Special Counsel's report said what it said, and Biden reacted with the confused gaffe that he did. Jean-Pierre has now started quoting Biden's wife, who says Biden's action-packed daily schedule involves one grueling hour after another:
Q. Reporter: "A new ABC News Ipsos Poll shows that 86% of Americans think Biden is too old to serve..."
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 12, 2024
A. White House press sec: "President Biden does more in one hour than most people do in a day."
pic.twitter.com/493UFMwJS6
She said that on Monday. Here was the president's Tuesday schedule, which is not exactly atypical:
For those who continue to defend President Biden and insist he's sharp/active... here's his schedule for Tuesday in an election year, and after his horrific week last week when one ABC poll said 86% of voters don't think he has the mental acuity for the job... pic.twitter.com/dW873TWmMZ
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) February 13, 2024
Relatedly, I made the point on Fox that the Special Counsel's assessment of Biden's cognitive faculties and memory was published last Thursday, days before the Super Bowl. Biden's staff had previously decided to have the president eschew the traditional presidential pregame interview for the second consecutive year, which veteran Democratic operative James Carville called "a kind of sign that the staff or yourself doesn’t have much confidence in you. There’s no other way to read this." The game broadcast ended up being, well, just the most-watched television program in American history:
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CBS Sports' presentation of Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched telecast in history with a total audience delivery of 123.4 million average viewers across platforms, per @CBSSportsGang.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 13, 2024
More than 200 million viewers watched all or part of the game across networks. pic.twitter.com/RyOMez2bmy
The White House knows it has a problem on its hands in terms of Biden's mental acuity and advanced age. They could have told CBS, 'you know what, on second thought, let's do this sit-down after all. Let's get this president in front of tens of millions of Americans, to reassure them of his fitness.' The network would have moved heaven and earth to accommodate them. But they didn't make that choice. I've seen some people framing the Super Bowl ratings bonanza as a huge missed opportunity for Team Biden. It seems they might view it differently -- as a huge avoided risk. Such decisions are telling:
Dems insist Biden is sharp & in command. After the special counsel report, WH could have reversed its decision to blow off the traditional Super Bowl interview (the game broadcast ended up being the most-watched television program in the history of America). They stuck with the… pic.twitter.com/VzmGaFhIjf
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 13, 2024
In his debut episode returning to hosting The Daily Show, Jon Stewart roasted both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, angering online progressives for daring to notice and mention obvious things about the incumbent:
Jon Stewart kicks off The Daily Show's election coverage with a wellness check on America's two chronologically challenged candidates: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/RPmFodvVAy
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 13, 2024
"Did anyone film that?" Stewart asked, after playing a montage of Democrats insisting Biden is 'sharp' and in command behind the scenes. "That would be good to show to people," he continued, "instead of a TikTok where he goes, 'chocolate chip cookies!'" Then came this, in a shot across the bow of Democrats' current nothing-to-see-here talking points: "What's crazy is thinking that we're the ones, as voters, who must silence concerns and criticisms. It is the candidate's job to assuage concerns, not the voters' job not to mention them." The people around Joe Biden appear not to have faith that the president being out front in front of voters on a frequent, unscripted, long-format basis will assuage the aforementioned concerns. Again, that says a lot. I'll leave you with this, as Biden's aides avoid questions about whether they'll agree to the release of the Special Counsel interview transcripts or recordings:
seems like Joe wasn’t able to get within the general ballpark…transcript / video could clear this up pic.twitter.com/Po15TX9h7z
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 13, 2024
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