It was actually an innocent performance for Joe Biden. A conference on nutrition and hunger in Washington. The US president wanted to greet some members of parliament present. Jackie, are you there? Where are you?” the then 79-year-old called out into the hallway. The Republican MP Jackie Walorski († 58) was intended. But she had died in a car accident eight weeks earlier.
Soon afterward, Biden’s spokeswoman clumsily tried to argue that the president wanted to praise the “incredible work” of MPs on nutrition. Ridicule and malice couldn’t stop that.
“Make One Mistake Per Speech”
Biden’s misstep at the end of September is one of many. The most powerful man in the world regularly gets confused at performances, searching for words, mixing up numbers, mixing up places and people. At last year’s World Climate Conference in Scotland, his eyes closed several times while listening to the opening event. And after a UN General Assembly in September, the president wanted to leave the podium, but apparently couldn’t find the exit.
Slips of the tongue and small mistakes happen to everyone, but it piles up on Biden – not just because he has had a stuttering problem since childhood and sometimes just can’t get difficult words out of his mouth. The White House also often has to accept a statement from the boss afterwards. During an appearance in May, Biden joked about himself: “Occasionally I make a mistake (…) – well, once per speech.”
Biden is the oldest American president of all time. Now he has turned 80 – and is faced with the decision whether to run for a second term or not. With his regular faux pas, the Democrat constantly provides Republicans with fodder to publicly question his mental fitness for the highest office in the United States. But even within their own party, there are some who, because of Biden’s age, are unsure if he is the right candidate to run again in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats also have doubts about Biden
Biden would be 81 at the election, 82 at the start of a second term and 86 at the end of his presidency. But if Biden runs again, he will support him.
Biden was elected to the U.S. Senate at age 29 and took office at 30, which is the minimum age. He was one of the youngest senators in US history and is now the oldest president the country has ever had. Thanks to his long political career, the former US vice president has more experience than most of his fellow party members.
future still uncertain
And he has a lot to show for his tenure, too: Biden pushed through several huge investment packages to get the country through the Corona crisis, to modernize the aging US infrastructure and to fight the climate crisis. After four chaotic years in the administration of his predecessor, Donald Trump, Biden repaired much of the damage to relations with allies around the world.
Biden has promised to make a decision at the beginning of the year whether to run again. “My intention is to run again,” he said. “But I have a lot of respect for fate. And this is ultimately a family decision.” (SDA)