9 ms·

Dannnnnng. I think it's definitely for the best (probably never should've come to this, reminds me of RBG). And that said I really, really liked his presidency,

Dannnnnng. I think it's definitely for the best (probably never should've come to this, reminds me of RBG). And that said I really, really liked his presidency, but, he is undeniably really old.

readthenotes1 2y ago
The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day...
- nkrisc 2y ago
  He’s far more physically fit than the Republican candidate. He can ride a bike. The Republican candidate also struggles to speak coherently. At least now we’ll likely not have both major party candidates be too old for office.
  - koolba 2y ago
    > He’s far more physically fit than the Republican candidate. He can ride a bike. The Republican candidate also struggles to speak coherently. Biden literally cannot walk down two steps unassisted. Meanwhile Trump appears to be bullet proof. You can disagree on plenty of policy, but no fair minded person could possibly think he’s mentally or physically more fit than Trump.
    - mcphage 2y ago
      > Meanwhile Trump appears to be bullet proof. That’s a weird way to say “Even his own party is shooting at him.”
      - andrewinardeer 2y ago
        Can you elaborate on this comment?
        Hikikomori 2y ago
        Shooter was republican?
        mcphage 2y ago
        Someone in Trump's own party attempted to assassinate him last week, and failed. For most people, having someone in your own party try to kill you would be a huge negative, but the person I was responding to attempted to spin it as a positive.
        koolba 2y ago
        The “who” that pulled the trigger is much less relevant than the reaction of Trump right after it happened. Rising up, the flag waving behind him, with a fist in the air yelling “Fight!”. Followed by a crowd cheering, “USA! USA!”. That was incredibly iconic and that picture will be in the historic books, and IMHO, alongside a biography of him as our 47th POTUS.
        mcphage 2y ago
        > that picture will be in the historic books Yep, next to all of the other failed assassinations.
        johnnyanmac 2y ago
        I did hear about Teddy being nearly assassinated and then continuing his speech right then and there. Helped with his image as being this stubborn bull who never backs down and comes in swinging. looking it up, we haven't had a near assassination since Reagan (how... well, poetic isn't the word I want to use). Probably a bit too recent for history books to record at my time. The other presidents who had near assassinations did eventually become assassinated.
    - topato 2y ago
      You seriously think Trump is more physically fit? I'd give you mentally, but avoiding having your head blown off because you gesture so wildly it's hard to get a clear shot does NOT make the man physically fit. He looks like a trash bag full of gelatin when he wears his golf clothes, and golf was Trump's only/best example of a (barely) "physical" challenge he thought he'd beat Biden at.... Sad.
      - koolba 2y ago
        > You seriously think Trump is more physically fit? Absolutely he’s more physically fit. I don’t think Biden would have survived being tackled by the Secret Service agents. That alone would have broken all kinds of bones. And as far as stamina goes, Trump regularly gives hour plus standing speeches. Do you really think Biden could stand in the hot sun for an hour? Here’s Biden unable to descend two (2!) stairs by himself: https://nypost.com/2024/06/28/us-news/jill-biden-helps-joe-off-stage-after-disastrous-debate-showing/ https://nypost.com/2024/06/28/us-news/jill-biden-helps-joe-o... You’re seriously going to tell me that guy is more physically fit than Trump?
        trealira 2y ago
        I think he's experiencing a rapid decline in his health, possibly due to COVID. He had been recorded riding his bike this June [0]. This is anecdotal, but it reminds me of my grandfather before he died. He had always been able to run on a treadmill and lift weights; then, he got cancer, and his health deteriorated to the point that he began to need a walker to get around, until he became bedridden and died. [0]: https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/joe-biden-goes-for-bike-ride-with-son-hunter-in-rehoboth-beach/vi-BB1nsOkG https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/joe-biden-goes-for-bike...
    - jauntywundrkind 2y ago
      The former White House staff & people in the administration had incredibly brutal things to say against Trump. Clips assembled recently by the Daily Show, https://youtu.be/ZsioMx6M3UI?si=tpMeD0O_5wUfWm-k#t=16m16s https://youtu.be/ZsioMx6M3UI?si=tpMeD0O_5wUfWm-k#t=16m16s : "Unfit for office" (Esper) "The greatest threat to democracy that we've ever seen." (Cobb) "he failed at being the president when we needed him to be the president" (mulvaney) "doesn't like to read, doesnt read briefing reports." (Tillerson) "absense of leadership, really anti-leadership" (McMaster) "wannabe dictator" (Kelly) "he shouldn't be near the oval office" (Barr) "a person who admires autocrats & murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, the Constitution, and rule of law" (Kelly) "God help us [if we's reelected]." (Kelly) And simply, "he's an effing moron" (Tillerson). Biden has always been a little weird with his vocal stutter, but he makes good points. He knows what's going on. He can talk to issues and hold a point. Trump's logic as he gets up on the podium & drunk uncle rambles is terrifying, both mean and vindictive when coherent but often just totally space case weirdo verbal diaherria. He's never been sharp. He's never been interested in the world, has always lived in his own head & it's only gotten worse & less & less intelligible. He's an effing moron and a mean nasty one at that. Biden is aging yes but he's a put together intelligent engaged listening person who reads his damned briefings & is engaged & interested & has ongoingly shown ability to go on talk shows & rallys & be strong, to talk intelligently to issues, to handle deep conversations well, & make sharp cases. You don't see anything like this insult against character & intelligence against Biden. I think Biden is sharp, but even if you disagree, at least he started with a full deck of cards and some decency & respect for democracy. The other guy? I think Bob Woodward really sums it up: "the president has the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader."
      - newfriend 2y ago
        You sound incredibly biased against Trump... > I think Biden is sharp and also delusional.
        jauntywundrkind 2y ago
        > You sound incredibly biased against Trump So do a very notable fraction of the people who worked for him!
  - jjj123 2y ago
    I don’t really care if my president can ride a bike, I care if he can think and speak cogently. Biden cannot. I’m not comparing him to Trump btw. Just explaining why I’m perfectly happy that the dems are replacing Biden with someone else.
    - navjack27 2y ago
      What a person thinks and what a person externally expresses can be two entirely separate things. I'm pretty sure Biden can think entirely well enough to be president.
      - nkrisc 2y ago
        But you claimed he’s physically decrepit, so I assumed you did care.
        michtzik 2y ago
        https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41026871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41026871 That comment was posted by 'readthenotes1.
  - Tade0 2y ago
    Both of them are in the age bracket where the annual probability of death is so high, that the chance of dying within the next four years is over 50%: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/probability-of-dying-by-age https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/probability-of-dying-by-a... Can't really deliver on your campaign promises if you're more likely than not to be dead before the end of your term.
- navjack27 2y ago
  Speaking clearly has nothing to do with mental fortitude. Tons of things can affect the fluency of speech. We really need to move past the days where we judge people's intelligence and competence based on how well the connections of their brain are able to influence the movement of the vocal cords and the tongue the lips and the jaw.
  - Shocka1 2y ago
    I agree for the average person, but at the same time the front man for one of the strongest economies in the world should be able to speak at least on an average level. Unfortunately I would define his speech at this point as poor - please correct me if I'm wrong. This factor seems like a running joke not only in the US, but the entire world.
  - endofreach 2y ago
    Sounds good to me. Will you inform the other world leaders with nuclear weapons?
  - exitb 2y ago
    It sounds nice and correct, but what if it’s literally part of the job?
  - tim333 2y ago
    Biden has more problems than just speaking unclearly. The thoughts get muddled at times too.
    - mschuster91 2y ago
      So what, at least he doesn't go completely off-prompt with utterly random unrelated bullshit every minute like your average Trump speech. The doublespeak from the Republican side regarding Biden's capabilities has been, frankly, astonishing.
      - jjtheblunt 2y ago
        You've got to be kidding, I must as a non-partisan say. The observations entertain the republican world, but they're there nonetheless for everyone, or this wouldn't have been forced by the democrats.
- mk89 2y ago
  I say this as someone that agrees that Biden should have stepped down earlier (for the 2nd election I mean). But please, people, do not compare the average person in their 80's to what this man has to do daily. Just alone entering a war room and giving an order to bomb a place, or watching the raw videos of war (which we luckily don't get access to) is something you don't come back from. This is not an average person, and he was doing OK after all. However, he objectively got older. That's it. No coming back from that either...
  - pennybanks 2y ago
    many people that age have been in actual wars. not saying which is more intense or which causes more stress on your body it definitely matters context of what you went through. although id say most vets that went through vietnam or korea probably been through a lot. at least i know my korean gpa has. man is crippled and vocal cords basically non existent due to his job there. but man is so sharp and smart mentally its actually shocking. but bidens has had serious brain surgeries. that alone should have disqualified him from even running imo regardless of how his term went
    - amenhotep 2y ago
      The point is not that Biden has been through an extraordinarily stressful experience at one point in his life but that Biden has been going through an extraordinarily stressful experience for the past four years while already being very old. With the greatest respect to your grandfather, I think it would take a similar toll on him.
      - mk89 2y ago
        And 8 years with Obama as VP in 2009-2017 (in his late 60's and early 70's). Obama got visibly older in 8 years, and he was way younger than Biden was at the time. And yet, Biden challenged Trump that had previously won against Clinton, not the new guy in the neighborhood. And he won. Seriously, the stress he went through in the last 15-20 years, that's some s*. He even lost his son in 2015. This guy has crazy good genes. And it sucks that people make fun of him. He should not go as a "joke". People should have some respect and understanding for him.
- laluneodyssee 2y ago
  > decrepitude What a word, TIL
- throw0101d 2y ago
  > The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. "When Biden stumbles over words, we question his state of mind; when Trump acts like a deranged street preacher, it’s … well, Tuesday. If Biden had suggested setting up migrants in a fight club,[1] he’d be out of the race already; Trump does it, and the country (as well as many in the media) shrugs. " * Tom Nichols, https://archive.ph/XcMbP https://archive.ph/XcMbP / https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/07/the-double-standard-in-trump-biden-coverage/678943/ https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/07/the-... > “Did anyone ever hear of Dana White?” Trump asked during his speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington. “… I said, ‘Dana, I have an idea. Why don’t you set up a migrant league of fighters and have your regular league of fighters, and then you have the champion of your league — these are the greatest fighters in the world — fight the champion of the migrants.’ I think the migrant guy might win; that’s how tough they are. He didn’t like that idea too much.” * https://archive.ph/cQ4KA https://archive.ph/cQ4KA / https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/22/trump-christians-migrants-violence/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/22/trump-chr... And it's not like Trump is that much younger than Biden.
  - ethagnawl 2y ago
    Fucking Hell. I need to stop thinking these things are exaggerations or hyperbole. In the past few days, I thought "MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW" and (now) "immigrant fight club" were the stuff of political cartoonists juicing the zeitgeist.
    - roughly 2y ago
      This is the other problem with this election cycle: Trump is saying truly deranged things, but they’re so far outside of what people think would be reasonable for a person to say that he’s not getting the kind of blowback for them he should be because nobody believes he’s actually saying them. (A contributing factor is that he actually Has been misrepresented a few times by the media - the “bloodbath” comment was very clearly about the auto industry in context, so the right feels rightly aggrieved and the left & media lose credibility.)
    - 2y ago
- MisterBastahrd 2y ago
  How many 90 year olds do you know who have jobs that are 24/7? Unlike his predecessor, Biden has taken the job seriously.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  if decrepitude had anything to do with voter confidence, we would have booted both candidates out after that charade that we called the "presidential debate"
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  Biden has a speech impediment, Judging him by his speech doesn't give an accurate picture of his mental fitness.
  - bamboozled 2y ago
    If you're sxuggesting he has always had one, well sadly it's become worse. The POTUS needs to be a good communicator, unfortunately for Biden.
    - bryanlarsen 2y ago
      He's always talked slowly and deliberately to avoid stuttering. On a young man it adds gravitas. On an old man it makes you sound old.
  - ImJamal 2y ago
    Compare him from his time as the vice president vs now. It is not even close. He has deteriorated so much in his speech. People can't even understand him which was never a problem back then.
- beloch 2y ago
  Biden was never the quickest guy (or tongue) in the room. During Obama's term, he was legendary for putting rooms to sleep with plodding, off-topic monologues where he set up irrelevant straw-men and then knocked them down. Obama was, by far, the quicker of the two. Time has probably not improved matters, but it's going a bit far to say Biden's declining sharply. Even in his prime, Biden might have stuttered and stumbled through a debate with somebody as consistently unpredictable and utterly unhinged as Trump. Is a younger leader better? Possibly. Speaking as a non-American, I have to note that, when Americans vote for a President, they're not just voting for one guy. They're voting for a guy who will select the entire white house staff. Biden surrounded himself with highly competent people with good ideas and they're why he's been an effective President. Obama could have easily done worse if he'd been less lucky with his staff selection. An old president who selects good staff can be effective. Trump did worse during his previous term and would be objectively worse in his next precisely because he'll surround himself with family and yes-men. When staffing, a good leader tries to make himself the dumbest person in the room. Biden did that. Trump never will. Case in point: The VP. In a Biden vs Trump contest, it was a very real possibility that either of their VP's would have to take over during their terms. Biden had Harris as his VP, and she's clearly ready to do the job. Trump chose a rookie senator yes-man with a profound lack of principles for his VP. The thought of Vance becoming President in 2026 or 2027 should terrify people.
  - newfriend 2y ago
    Time in position does not imply competence. Harris has been a ghost for 4 years, after dismally losing the 2020 primary, and being selected ostensibly because of her group identity.
    - defrost 2y ago
      VP's are frequently ghosts - we only really remember Mike Pence as the guy who called his wife Mother and who Trump and his supporters wanted to hang when they were cosplaying insurrection. Harris has at least been a formidable prosecuter and brings bone fide proven legal talent to the role, not to mention the $8,000 US plus Trump and his family have donated towards her election since 2011.
- grugagag 2y ago
  It’s weird that an incoherent Trump never gets called out for his ramblings that run on and on in circles. Yet Biden’s gaffes are blown out of proportion. I wish someone just called out Trump directly and told him to stop the ramblings. But nobody in his circle could do it when he was president, nobody could get him off twitter and so on.
  - Tao3300 2y ago
    I haven't seen a single clip of Trump in months where he hasn't slurred his words several times. Apparently we're all supposed to be okay with that.
  - HDThoreaun 2y ago
    Trumps been called out for his ramblings for 8 years now. Its not news anymore. Hes mastered the post truth tactic of overwhelming people with bullshit so much that they dont care about it anymore.
- whoknowsidont 2y ago
  >I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day... Exactly zero of them have the demanding job of a president.
- eBombzor 2y ago
  Am I wrong to think that whoever is appointed to Presidency is just a figurehead of the actual administration, and that it really doesn't matter how functional he actually is? I'm not defending or endorsing Biden, but from my eyes we vote for the administration, not for the person.

Dannnnnng. I think it's definitely for the best (probably never should've come to this, reminds me of RBG). And that said I really, really liked his presidency, but, he is undeniably really old.

readthenotes1 2y ago

The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day...

nkrisc 2y ago
He’s far more physically fit than the Republican candidate. He can ride a bike. The Republican candidate also struggles to speak coherently. At least now we’ll likely not have both major party candidates be too old for office.
- koolba 2y ago
  > He’s far more physically fit than the Republican candidate. He can ride a bike. The Republican candidate also struggles to speak coherently. Biden literally cannot walk down two steps unassisted. Meanwhile Trump appears to be bullet proof. You can disagree on plenty of policy, but no fair minded person could possibly think he’s mentally or physically more fit than Trump.
  - mcphage 2y ago
    > Meanwhile Trump appears to be bullet proof. That’s a weird way to say “Even his own party is shooting at him.”
    - andrewinardeer 2y ago
      Can you elaborate on this comment?
      - Hikikomori 2y ago
        Shooter was republican?
      - mcphage 2y ago
        Someone in Trump's own party attempted to assassinate him last week, and failed. For most people, having someone in your own party try to kill you would be a huge negative, but the person I was responding to attempted to spin it as a positive.
        koolba 2y ago
        The “who” that pulled the trigger is much less relevant than the reaction of Trump right after it happened. Rising up, the flag waving behind him, with a fist in the air yelling “Fight!”. Followed by a crowd cheering, “USA! USA!”. That was incredibly iconic and that picture will be in the historic books, and IMHO, alongside a biography of him as our 47th POTUS.
        mcphage 2y ago
        > that picture will be in the historic books Yep, next to all of the other failed assassinations.
        johnnyanmac 2y ago
        I did hear about Teddy being nearly assassinated and then continuing his speech right then and there. Helped with his image as being this stubborn bull who never backs down and comes in swinging. looking it up, we haven't had a near assassination since Reagan (how... well, poetic isn't the word I want to use). Probably a bit too recent for history books to record at my time. The other presidents who had near assassinations did eventually become assassinated.
  - topato 2y ago
    You seriously think Trump is more physically fit? I'd give you mentally, but avoiding having your head blown off because you gesture so wildly it's hard to get a clear shot does NOT make the man physically fit. He looks like a trash bag full of gelatin when he wears his golf clothes, and golf was Trump's only/best example of a (barely) "physical" challenge he thought he'd beat Biden at.... Sad.
    - koolba 2y ago
      > You seriously think Trump is more physically fit? Absolutely he’s more physically fit. I don’t think Biden would have survived being tackled by the Secret Service agents. That alone would have broken all kinds of bones. And as far as stamina goes, Trump regularly gives hour plus standing speeches. Do you really think Biden could stand in the hot sun for an hour? Here’s Biden unable to descend two (2!) stairs by himself: https://nypost.com/2024/06/28/us-news/jill-biden-helps-joe-off-stage-after-disastrous-debate-showing/ https://nypost.com/2024/06/28/us-news/jill-biden-helps-joe-o... You’re seriously going to tell me that guy is more physically fit than Trump?
      - trealira 2y ago
        I think he's experiencing a rapid decline in his health, possibly due to COVID. He had been recorded riding his bike this June [0]. This is anecdotal, but it reminds me of my grandfather before he died. He had always been able to run on a treadmill and lift weights; then, he got cancer, and his health deteriorated to the point that he began to need a walker to get around, until he became bedridden and died. [0]: https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/joe-biden-goes-for-bike-ride-with-son-hunter-in-rehoboth-beach/vi-BB1nsOkG https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/joe-biden-goes-for-bike...
  - jauntywundrkind 2y ago
    The former White House staff & people in the administration had incredibly brutal things to say against Trump. Clips assembled recently by the Daily Show, https://youtu.be/ZsioMx6M3UI?si=tpMeD0O_5wUfWm-k#t=16m16s https://youtu.be/ZsioMx6M3UI?si=tpMeD0O_5wUfWm-k#t=16m16s : "Unfit for office" (Esper) "The greatest threat to democracy that we've ever seen." (Cobb) "he failed at being the president when we needed him to be the president" (mulvaney) "doesn't like to read, doesnt read briefing reports." (Tillerson) "absense of leadership, really anti-leadership" (McMaster) "wannabe dictator" (Kelly) "he shouldn't be near the oval office" (Barr) "a person who admires autocrats & murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, the Constitution, and rule of law" (Kelly) "God help us [if we's reelected]." (Kelly) And simply, "he's an effing moron" (Tillerson). Biden has always been a little weird with his vocal stutter, but he makes good points. He knows what's going on. He can talk to issues and hold a point. Trump's logic as he gets up on the podium & drunk uncle rambles is terrifying, both mean and vindictive when coherent but often just totally space case weirdo verbal diaherria. He's never been sharp. He's never been interested in the world, has always lived in his own head & it's only gotten worse & less & less intelligible. He's an effing moron and a mean nasty one at that. Biden is aging yes but he's a put together intelligent engaged listening person who reads his damned briefings & is engaged & interested & has ongoingly shown ability to go on talk shows & rallys & be strong, to talk intelligently to issues, to handle deep conversations well, & make sharp cases. You don't see anything like this insult against character & intelligence against Biden. I think Biden is sharp, but even if you disagree, at least he started with a full deck of cards and some decency & respect for democracy. The other guy? I think Bob Woodward really sums it up: "the president has the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader."
    - newfriend 2y ago
      You sound incredibly biased against Trump... > I think Biden is sharp and also delusional.
      - jauntywundrkind 2y ago
        > You sound incredibly biased against Trump So do a very notable fraction of the people who worked for him!
- jjj123 2y ago
  I don’t really care if my president can ride a bike, I care if he can think and speak cogently. Biden cannot. I’m not comparing him to Trump btw. Just explaining why I’m perfectly happy that the dems are replacing Biden with someone else.
  - navjack27 2y ago
    What a person thinks and what a person externally expresses can be two entirely separate things. I'm pretty sure Biden can think entirely well enough to be president.
    - nkrisc 2y ago
      But you claimed he’s physically decrepit, so I assumed you did care.
      - michtzik 2y ago
        https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41026871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41026871 That comment was posted by 'readthenotes1.
- Tade0 2y ago
  Both of them are in the age bracket where the annual probability of death is so high, that the chance of dying within the next four years is over 50%: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/probability-of-dying-by-age https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/probability-of-dying-by-a... Can't really deliver on your campaign promises if you're more likely than not to be dead before the end of your term.
navjack27 2y ago
Speaking clearly has nothing to do with mental fortitude. Tons of things can affect the fluency of speech. We really need to move past the days where we judge people's intelligence and competence based on how well the connections of their brain are able to influence the movement of the vocal cords and the tongue the lips and the jaw.
- Shocka1 2y ago
  I agree for the average person, but at the same time the front man for one of the strongest economies in the world should be able to speak at least on an average level. Unfortunately I would define his speech at this point as poor - please correct me if I'm wrong. This factor seems like a running joke not only in the US, but the entire world.
- endofreach 2y ago
  Sounds good to me. Will you inform the other world leaders with nuclear weapons?
- exitb 2y ago
  It sounds nice and correct, but what if it’s literally part of the job?
- tim333 2y ago
  Biden has more problems than just speaking unclearly. The thoughts get muddled at times too.
  - mschuster91 2y ago
    So what, at least he doesn't go completely off-prompt with utterly random unrelated bullshit every minute like your average Trump speech. The doublespeak from the Republican side regarding Biden's capabilities has been, frankly, astonishing.
    - jjtheblunt 2y ago
      You've got to be kidding, I must as a non-partisan say. The observations entertain the republican world, but they're there nonetheless for everyone, or this wouldn't have been forced by the democrats.
mk89 2y ago
I say this as someone that agrees that Biden should have stepped down earlier (for the 2nd election I mean). But please, people, do not compare the average person in their 80's to what this man has to do daily. Just alone entering a war room and giving an order to bomb a place, or watching the raw videos of war (which we luckily don't get access to) is something you don't come back from. This is not an average person, and he was doing OK after all. However, he objectively got older. That's it. No coming back from that either...
- pennybanks 2y ago
  many people that age have been in actual wars. not saying which is more intense or which causes more stress on your body it definitely matters context of what you went through. although id say most vets that went through vietnam or korea probably been through a lot. at least i know my korean gpa has. man is crippled and vocal cords basically non existent due to his job there. but man is so sharp and smart mentally its actually shocking. but bidens has had serious brain surgeries. that alone should have disqualified him from even running imo regardless of how his term went
  - amenhotep 2y ago
    The point is not that Biden has been through an extraordinarily stressful experience at one point in his life but that Biden has been going through an extraordinarily stressful experience for the past four years while already being very old. With the greatest respect to your grandfather, I think it would take a similar toll on him.
    - mk89 2y ago
      And 8 years with Obama as VP in 2009-2017 (in his late 60's and early 70's). Obama got visibly older in 8 years, and he was way younger than Biden was at the time. And yet, Biden challenged Trump that had previously won against Clinton, not the new guy in the neighborhood. And he won. Seriously, the stress he went through in the last 15-20 years, that's some s*. He even lost his son in 2015. This guy has crazy good genes. And it sucks that people make fun of him. He should not go as a "joke". People should have some respect and understanding for him.
laluneodyssee 2y ago
> decrepitude What a word, TIL
throw0101d 2y ago
> The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. "When Biden stumbles over words, we question his state of mind; when Trump acts like a deranged street preacher, it’s … well, Tuesday. If Biden had suggested setting up migrants in a fight club,[1] he’d be out of the race already; Trump does it, and the country (as well as many in the media) shrugs. " * Tom Nichols, https://archive.ph/XcMbP https://archive.ph/XcMbP / https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/07/the-double-standard-in-trump-biden-coverage/678943/ https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/07/the-... > “Did anyone ever hear of Dana White?” Trump asked during his speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington. “… I said, ‘Dana, I have an idea. Why don’t you set up a migrant league of fighters and have your regular league of fighters, and then you have the champion of your league — these are the greatest fighters in the world — fight the champion of the migrants.’ I think the migrant guy might win; that’s how tough they are. He didn’t like that idea too much.” * https://archive.ph/cQ4KA https://archive.ph/cQ4KA / https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/22/trump-christians-migrants-violence/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/22/trump-chr... And it's not like Trump is that much younger than Biden.
- ethagnawl 2y ago
  Fucking Hell. I need to stop thinking these things are exaggerations or hyperbole. In the past few days, I thought "MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW" and (now) "immigrant fight club" were the stuff of political cartoonists juicing the zeitgeist.
  - roughly 2y ago
    This is the other problem with this election cycle: Trump is saying truly deranged things, but they’re so far outside of what people think would be reasonable for a person to say that he’s not getting the kind of blowback for them he should be because nobody believes he’s actually saying them. (A contributing factor is that he actually Has been misrepresented a few times by the media - the “bloodbath” comment was very clearly about the auto industry in context, so the right feels rightly aggrieved and the left & media lose credibility.)
  - 2y ago
MisterBastahrd 2y ago
How many 90 year olds do you know who have jobs that are 24/7? Unlike his predecessor, Biden has taken the job seriously.
johnnyanmac 2y ago
if decrepitude had anything to do with voter confidence, we would have booted both candidates out after that charade that we called the "presidential debate"
bryanlarsen 2y ago
Biden has a speech impediment, Judging him by his speech doesn't give an accurate picture of his mental fitness.
- bamboozled 2y ago
  If you're sxuggesting he has always had one, well sadly it's become worse. The POTUS needs to be a good communicator, unfortunately for Biden.
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    He's always talked slowly and deliberately to avoid stuttering. On a young man it adds gravitas. On an old man it makes you sound old.
- ImJamal 2y ago
  Compare him from his time as the vice president vs now. It is not even close. He has deteriorated so much in his speech. People can't even understand him which was never a problem back then.
beloch 2y ago
Biden was never the quickest guy (or tongue) in the room. During Obama's term, he was legendary for putting rooms to sleep with plodding, off-topic monologues where he set up irrelevant straw-men and then knocked them down. Obama was, by far, the quicker of the two. Time has probably not improved matters, but it's going a bit far to say Biden's declining sharply. Even in his prime, Biden might have stuttered and stumbled through a debate with somebody as consistently unpredictable and utterly unhinged as Trump. Is a younger leader better? Possibly. Speaking as a non-American, I have to note that, when Americans vote for a President, they're not just voting for one guy. They're voting for a guy who will select the entire white house staff. Biden surrounded himself with highly competent people with good ideas and they're why he's been an effective President. Obama could have easily done worse if he'd been less lucky with his staff selection. An old president who selects good staff can be effective. Trump did worse during his previous term and would be objectively worse in his next precisely because he'll surround himself with family and yes-men. When staffing, a good leader tries to make himself the dumbest person in the room. Biden did that. Trump never will. Case in point: The VP. In a Biden vs Trump contest, it was a very real possibility that either of their VP's would have to take over during their terms. Biden had Harris as his VP, and she's clearly ready to do the job. Trump chose a rookie senator yes-man with a profound lack of principles for his VP. The thought of Vance becoming President in 2026 or 2027 should terrify people.
- newfriend 2y ago
  Time in position does not imply competence. Harris has been a ghost for 4 years, after dismally losing the 2020 primary, and being selected ostensibly because of her group identity.
  - defrost 2y ago
    VP's are frequently ghosts - we only really remember Mike Pence as the guy who called his wife Mother and who Trump and his supporters wanted to hang when they were cosplaying insurrection. Harris has at least been a formidable prosecuter and brings bone fide proven legal talent to the role, not to mention the $8,000 US plus Trump and his family have donated towards her election since 2011.
grugagag 2y ago
It’s weird that an incoherent Trump never gets called out for his ramblings that run on and on in circles. Yet Biden’s gaffes are blown out of proportion. I wish someone just called out Trump directly and told him to stop the ramblings. But nobody in his circle could do it when he was president, nobody could get him off twitter and so on.
- Tao3300 2y ago
  I haven't seen a single clip of Trump in months where he hasn't slurred his words several times. Apparently we're all supposed to be okay with that.
- HDThoreaun 2y ago
  Trumps been called out for his ramblings for 8 years now. Its not news anymore. Hes mastered the post truth tactic of overwhelming people with bullshit so much that they dont care about it anymore.
whoknowsidont 2y ago
>I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day... Exactly zero of them have the demanding job of a president.
eBombzor 2y ago
Am I wrong to think that whoever is appointed to Presidency is just a figurehead of the actual administration, and that it really doesn't matter how functional he actually is? I'm not defending or endorsing Biden, but from my eyes we vote for the administration, not for the person.