The mainstream media has decided, like lemmings to the sea, that this is the time to attack President Biden for his age. This red herring argument has become almost as ubiquitous as stories about Taylor Swift. And it’s a disgrace.
If Biden were running against someone much younger, this ageism might be more understandable. But President Biden, who will be 81 in November, is running against Donald Trump, who will be 78. And how can anyone doubt that physically, Biden is in much, much better shape?
But oh no, the pundits are picking on the times when Biden flubs his lines. As everyone should know, President Biden has and always had a stutter. It is simply not a sign of diminished mental capacity. These attacks are one more symptom of “bothsiderism.” The mainstream media has been dying to prove that they are “fair and balanced,” as Fox News used to put it.
Obviously, the question is not whether President Biden’s memory is as good as a 40-year-old, it is how his abilities compare to 78-year-old Trump’s.
According to everyone who has dealt with him, including his former White House staff, Trump is in a substantial mental decline. He was unable to express ideas in 2016 and he was unable to think in 2020. Today, Trump is simply delusional. He has told so many lies that he has no grasp on reality at all.
The problem is not just that he confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi, or that he referred to the president of Hungary as the president of Turkey, or that he bragged of defeating President Obama in the 2016 election instead of Hillary Clinton, or that he claimed that he won all 50 states in 2016 (he won 30).
The problem is that he doesn’t know good from bad or right from wrong. He can’t even remember which is which. He’s a traitor, recently saying he’d encourage Russia to attack our NATO allies if they don’t pay more money. He’s an authoritarian, saying that presidents and ex-presidents are immune from prosecution for any crime committed. He’s a rapist, adjudicated as such by a jury. He’s a tax cheat. He’s a security risk, having stolen the most high-classified documents our nation has. And he is an insurrectionist who, under the 14th Amendment, should not be allowed to hold office.
In comparison, what has President Biden actually done?
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The U.S. has had the best economic recovery from COVID in the G7 and our stock market is breaking records. GDP has grown on average almost 3 percent per year in Biden’s presidency, 3 times higher than Trump averaged over his 4 years.
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We have the lowest unemployment rate in a peacetime economy since WWII. There are 8 times as many new jobs created in the 36 months of Biden’s presidency as the last 3 GOP presidents (16 years) combined.
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Real wage growth - that is, wage growth minus inflation - is currently running at its highest levels in decades.
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Median wealth is up 37 percent from 2020-2022; median wealth for 18-34 year-olds in this period has more than doubled.
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We now have the lowest uninsured rate in history; ACA signups this past year have been the highest ever.
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The deficit is trillions less today than it was under Trump.
(For much more detail on Biden’s successes, see Simon Rosenberg’s blog.)
On the bad side, Biden once fell off his bicycle and Democrats grumble about him to pollsters. Maybe he should spray orange tint on his face and hair?