Ever since Joe Biden announced he was running for president (he did it by video before holing up in his basement for most of the campaign), the legacy media has had his back, defending his endless gaffes, both small and large.
But the legacy media truly outdid themselves this past weekend, turning a blind eye to the soon-to-be 80-year-old totally zoning out in the middle of a television interview — to the point where the interviewer had to say, “Mr. President?” to snap him out of his reverie.
In one of his rare interviews, Biden sat down with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart to talk 2024 ambitions. Capehart asked about recent polling that finds most Americans say Biden shouldn’t run again because of his age.
“The only reason to be involved in public life is: Can you make life better for other people,” the president said.
Capehart then asked Biden if he is going to run.
“I have not made that formal decision but it’s my intention, my intention to — and we have time to make that decision,” he said.
“Dr. Biden is for it?” Capehart asked, referring to first lady Jill Biden, who is not a medical doctor but holds an Ed.D., an education degree.
Biden fell silent and appeared to take a long trip in his mind, prompting Capehart to try to snap him out of it. “Mr. President?” he said as Biden sat there stone-faced. Amid signs that Biden might be returning from his trip, Capehart said, “Ope,” as in, “Oh, there you are.”
Yup, Biden was back — sort of. “Dr. Biden thinks that, uh, my wife thinks that, uh…” he said, followed by another long pause. “… that I, uh, that, that we’re, that we’re doing something very important and that I shouldn’t walk away from it.”
Huh?
BIDEN: "It's my intention to run again."
Q: "Dr. Biden is for it?"
BIDEN: *silence*
Q: "Mr. President?"
BIDEN: "Dr. Biden thinks that uh, my wife thinks that uh, that I uh, that, that we're, that we're doing something very important."
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 21, 2022
The legacy media ignored the whole scene — even though if the former president had done it, hoo boy, it’d be wall-to-wall coverage for weeks. But one lawmaker ripped Biden, saying he’s clearly not competent.
“This is really sad, but he reminds me of a Madame Tussauds wax figure,” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said on Fox News. “He comes out, and they turn him on, and he delivers talking points that are presented to him by his shadow government, the staff behind him.”
“He’s really showing that he’s not competent to do this most important job in our nation. And I really, I joined on a letter with Congressman [Ronny] Jackson about making him subject to a cognitive test … this is serious stuff. We’ve got enemies around the world. You’ve been interviewing tremendous people about China, about what’s happening in the war in Europe, which is unprecedented,” she said.
“We’ve got to start looking into whether Joe Biden is actually capable of being the president. I think he’s not. I think we should consider all of these avenues,” Tenney said.
Thirty-seven GOP lawmakers joined Rep. Jackson (R-TX) in signing the letter. “My colleagues and I are again asking President Biden to immediately undergo a formal cognitive screening exam, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA),” Jackson told Fox News Digital in an email.
“As a former physician to three Presidents of the United States, I know what it takes mentally and physically to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” Jackson said. “Joe Biden has continually proven to me and to the world that something isn’t right. The American people deserve to have absolute confidence in their President’s cognitive ability.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.