A new report from The New York Times revealed how President Biden tried and failed to prove his physical vigor to critics constantly calling into question his age and fitness for the job.
For the piece detailing what Biden and his team did to try and minimize the public’s impression that he was a “faltering” president, reporters spoke to people close to Biden who noted that the president wanted to display his physical prowess to combat scrutiny of his age.
“But at times, people familiar with his thinking recalled, Mr. Biden’s pride — along with an old-school view that displaying physical vitality was the antidote to age concerns — could get in the way,” the Friday report disclosed.
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As the outlet noted, Biden’s longtime strategist Mike Donlon had told the president in 2022, “Your biggest issue is the perception of age.” Biden “acknowledged the concerns,” but the “warnings only ignited his defiant, competitive streak,” The Times reported, suggesting that this attitude fueled his decision to run for re-election in 2023, after initially suggesting he would not.
“Finally elected on his third try, Mr. Biden suggested that he would be a transition president,” the piece stated. “But his pride, plus a string of legislative accomplishments and a strong showing in the 2022 midterms, drove him to seek re-election and set out on a quixotic mission to prove his vitality.”
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Biden’s pride also reportedly prompted him to try and show off his physical competence to the public. The report continued, “Mr. Biden, who exercised on a stationary bike most days, made decisions that he thought would showcase vigor. But, at times, they had the unintended effect of showcasing his advancing years.”
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President Joe Biden falls during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy, just north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, on June 1, 2023. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The report provided several examples, the first being that Biden “refused to wear an orthopedic boot” after fracturing his foot while playing with his dog just ahead of the inauguration.
“He did not want to be seen as weak — a 78-year-old president with his hand on the Bible and a large, telltale contraption on his foot. He wore his leather brogues instead.”
Sources told The Times that the fracture “did not heal” as a result, and it has contributed to a “shuffling gait that has continued through his presidency.”
It also mentioned his bike riding mishap stemming from his desire to look fit.
“Mr. Biden still wanted to prove that he was physically agile,” the report read. “He enjoyed biking at his home near Rehoboth Beach, Del., but during the summer of 2022, when he stopped to talk with a group of onlookers and reporters, his feet got caught in the toe cages on the pedals.”
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Biden fell off his bike and reporters caught it on camera. The clip went viral and became fodder for Biden’s critics, who even turned “Mr. Biden’s fall into a political attack on T-shirts,” The Times added.
Then came the “worst mishap,” it continued, pointing to when “Mr. Biden tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy commencement.”
“It took five seconds for Secret Service agents to help the president to his feet, an eternity when seen on television.”
The White House did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Original article source: Biden’s efforts to show ‘vigor’ backfired, showed his advanced age: Report
