Even two days later, it still boggles the mind that Joe Biden had nine days of rest and debate prep and was still incapable of stringing together multiple sentences and sounding coherent.
In the days since the debate, I’ve spoken with several people on both sides of the aisle. From the apolitical who watched the debate with no idea what to expect to Democrat strategists and consultants, from folks behind the scenes to callers of my radio show, almost to a person, they’ve all agreed that Biden did not help himself whatsoever.
The degree to which Democrats were surprised by Biden’s performance leads me to believe that Biden’s team – his White House team and his re-election team – lied to the rest of the party about his condition. The Democrats bought the White House’s hype, that Republicans were overplaying Biden’s mental miscues and that he really is sharper behind the scenes.
That so many came out, albeit anonymously, and said he needed to step down is a sign they felt betrayed.
The media, too, was clearly taken aback. Every post-debate show opened with criticisms of Biden’s performance and amplified the calls for a change. They were just as complicit as the Democratic Party in running with the White House narrative. The New York Times even ran an editorial calling on him to step down.
READ MORE:
NY Times Editorial Board Calls on Biden to Leave Presidential Race ‘to Serve His Country’
Joe Scarborough Finally Drops the Act, Signals He’s Throwing in the Towel on Biden
Joe Biden Did Not Just Sink His Reelection Bid at the Debate; He Took the Press Down With Him
But Biden’s performance was more than cold water in the face of the Democrats. His responses to questions and his inability to remain coherent shine a light on the one big question that has lingered over the Biden administration – who is running the show?
One of the more popular theories has been that Barack Obama has been running the show this whole time. Others say it’s Jill Biden. And some folks (including myself) have figured that the befuddled old man was the figurehead of an administration run entirely by staffers with little input from the guy supposedly in charge.
But the answers Biden gave on the stage Thursday night prove one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt: The man who can’t form a coherent response to debate questions is the same man producing incoherent policies in the White House.
It’s Joe Biden all the way down.
Incapable of telling the truth and incapable of stringing multiple ideas together, the Biden administration has been one of whiplash, jerking back and forth to the whims of a man whose mind is gone. What we saw on the stage Thursday night is the man who said no one told him withdrawing from Afghanistan would lead to the Taliban sweeping back into power. He’s the same man who ran for president because of antisemites in Charlottesville but can’t bring himself to recognize the antisemitism inherent in his own party.
To be honest, it would probably be better for the country if Barack Obama, Jill Biden, or someone else were running a shadow government. But instead, we’re getting a government run by a man who doesn’t realize he can’t do it. And that is probably the most dangerous kind of leadership we could have.
