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.
todd doyka
March 7, 2023 at 2:22 pm
FDR was socialism. FDR was and is a threat to the Republic.
pagar
March 7, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Biden stumbling while negotiating a stairwell is not much to worry about.
What is to be worried about is his mental capacity or acuity what with his multiple covid infections, intermittent bouts of cancer, bse and dementia and seeing presence of dead people or dead or bygone nurses.
Clearly, his brain is totally suspect and that has been shown by him hurling billions of bucks over to the war in europe while migrants crash tbe southern borders while domestic inflation gets energized on a daily basis.
Biden is finished even as his doctors attempt to probe his disease-addled body for more undetected cancerous lesions.
mike holzman
March 15, 2023 at 11:41 am
Those who keep this fallacy alive are just afraid of President Biden. Age has it’s benefits, have you noticed that the younger generation seems to be a taco or two short of a combination plate? One result of not teaching history in High School.
bill myers
March 16, 2023 at 5:57 pm
i am approximately the same age as biden and i certainly know that the brain does not function as well as it did 20 years ago. the democrats need to nominate someone younger. but the republicans certainly dont need trump. dont know who i would vote for if these two run would probably stay at home.
Lyle Farmer
March 17, 2023 at 8:30 pm
Bye Bye Biden, Troup was not perfect, butI still remember Joe sayimg the KKK leader was a great American, or Joe’s “If You Don’t Vote For ME, You Aint Black!!!!
Dianna Rottner
March 18, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Joe is trying to buy votes from Black people , can’t you see that? and he opened the boader’s so all the brown people would vote for him. But he has done nothing for these people. He’s a racist and if you remember he said “I may be a poor old white boy , but I’m not supuid!”.
Dave
March 18, 2023 at 2:52 pm
While I agree with this article in general, I found the comment about numerous presidents over the last decade stumbling/falling on the stairs to Air Force One to be misleading at best, and false after investigation. Several searches revealed Obama ALMOST losing his balance, Trump stumbling once, Pence nearly falling, and then the only other, and most pronounced one, was Ford falling off the last three steps, way back in 1974! I was still in high school then, and didn’t care if the President fell. Now I do care.
Biden is too old, displaying too much cognitive decline, and generally damaging the country with the bundles of cash thrown abroad while too many problems plague us here at home, and the obvious problem is that we simply don’t have enough money to fix them. We would have more, maybe still not enough, but more, if we kept the focus inward.
Mark Proell
March 19, 2023 at 1:08 pm
It’s the time to set an age limit. 75 is the age I choose. Even when he is reading his remarks he stills, lacks confidence saying what he must say to us. In my opinion, Barack Obama was the best speaking President this country ever had. Joe, I know everyone has accidents going up or down stairs. Believe me I know, Because I am 75 years myself. I have fallen more than I like to admit. And my memory is getting short. Reading teleprompters does always give the impression you are sharp and ready to fulfill your duties, but I still wonder..Mark
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