President Joe Biden stumbled slightly while ascending the steps to Air Force One last month. Fox News is making a big deal of the minor misstep: “President Biden appeared to stumble once again while attempting to board Air Force One this week, marking the second time the 80-year-old president has been caught on camera having trouble climbing the stairs on his plane in less than two weeks.”
According to Fox, “it remains unclear on both occasions what might have caused Biden to trip on the steps.”
Missing the point on Joe Biden
I mean, who hasn’t stumbled while going up the stairs?
It’s a non-story.
But Fox is attempting at a deeper implication: that Joe Biden is too old for the presidency; that Biden is struggling on account of his advanced age.
The thing is, Biden is too old for the presidency.
And he may be struggling on account of his advanced age.
But the fact that Biden occasionally misses a step while climbing the stairs to Air Force One does absolutely nothing to confirm, or even suggest, that Biden’s age is a problem.
I suspect if you combed the decade’s worth of footage, of presidents getting on and off Air Force One, you would find numerous examples of able-bodied, middle-aged presidents tripping.
As I said, it’s a non-story.
But when Biden trips, Fox News, who is posted up with a microscope, waiting for Biden to trip or mumble or forget a line or tell a meandering story, it’s an indication of age-related physical and mental decline.
Now, I’m happy to criticize Biden on account of his age. I’ve done quite a bit of exactly that; I think Biden is too old to serve as president. I think he is certainly too old to run for reelection.
But I don’t see a stairwell stumble as validation of my position.
And I don’t celebrate every missed step or misspoken word.
Biden is too old
My concerns about Biden and his age are entirely divorced from his ability to navigate stairwells.
My concerns are even divorced from Biden’s ability to be mobile. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the best president ever and he couldn’t walk. John F. Kennedy, Jr. was functionally crippled but still cognitively sharp. Ambulation in no way relates to someone’s ability to successfully perform the essential duties of the presidency.
That being said, Biden concerns me because he appears less articulate, less cogent than he has in the past.
Biden has been in Washington for fifty years – giving speeches and interviews the entire time. So, we have extensive videographic evidence of how Biden communicated throughout his life. Clearly, at present, Biden is at the nadir of his communicative ability. Is that an indication of cognitive decline?
I’m not qualified to say but that is absolutely my opinion, yes. Joe Biden does not seem as sharp as he once was. He is certainly not as articulate as he once was. It’s obvious now. What’s it going to look like if he wins reelection and serves as president until 2028, through his 86th birthday? I don’t really want to find out.
I recommend the Democrats find an alternative, perhaps someone in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s. The presidency is the most important job in the world and the post deserves someone with all their faculties intact.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
