By T. Jayani, JadeTimes News
President Joe Biden's team has unveiled a strategy to feature him in more casual, unscripted events and increase his public appearances as he aims to redirect the focus from his recent poor debate performance. However, Biden is now under intense scrutiny at this pivotal moment for his political future, with heightened attention on every verbal slip, diversion, and moment of confusion. There are questions about whether this strategy will yield the desired outcome.
A growing number of elected officials, Democratic donors, and supporters are voicing concerns about Biden's age and ability to serve a second term. His aides acknowledge the high stakes for Biden's upcoming one on one interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Friday. Biden is also expected to hold a press conference during next week's NATO summit.
Even before last Thursday's presidential debate, Biden's delivery has occasionally been halting. Close observers have noted that his speech and delivery have lost some of their previous pacing, crispness, and focus since he took office. In a radio interview recorded Wednesday and aired Thursday, Biden made some verbal missteps. “I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president first Black woman to serve with a Black president, proud to have been involved with the first Black woman on the Supreme Court,” he said during an appearance with Andrea Lawful Sanders of “The Source” in Philadelphia.
A Biden campaign spokesperson criticized the scrutiny of the president's missteps as "absurd." “It was clear what President Biden meant when he was talking about his historic record, including a record number of appointments to the federal bench. This is not news and the media has passed the point of absurdity here,” said campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa.
In another radio interview recorded Wednesday with a Wisconsin outlet, Biden presented a similar argument without any mistakes. He provided lengthy answers to questions about his efforts to improve the lives of Black Pennsylvanians and the importance of the upcoming election, listing his accomplishments and navigating the interview skillfully.
The president sometimes veers into tangents but often stops himself before or after doing so. Biden’s opponent, former President Donald Trump, has also made verbal missteps and lengthy asides. While addressing military families during an Independence Day event on the White House’s South Lawn, Biden read from a teleprompter but briefly spoke off the cuff. He referred to former President Donald Trump as “one of our colleagues” and quickly corrected himself. He also made a confusing reference to presidential road closures, recounting how as a senator, he noticed congestion on highways, which he claimed no longer exists when he travels as president.
Biden's team has largely shielded him from potential signs of aging through strategies like short, tightly scripted events, the use of shorter steps on Air Force One, and significantly reduced engagement with reporters compared to his predecessors. However, some Democrats believe these efforts aim more at preventing incidents showing a weakened, aging president. Close observers note that Biden’s enunciation and clarity have diminished with age, and he loses his train of thought more frequently. “I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t talk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said last Friday at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.
