Where’s Jackie? Concerns Mount Over Joe Biden’s Mental State
Author: Greg Valliere
September 29, 2022
“WHERE’S JACKIE?” Biden asked at a nutrition event yesterday, referring to Jackie
Waloski, an Indiana Congresswoman who had a strong interest in nutritional issues.
She died in an auto accident on Aug. 3, and the following day Biden expressed condolences and ordered White House flags to fly at half-mast. “Jackie — are you here?” Biden said yesterday.
WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS, INCREDULOUS, demanded a clarification from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who said that Waloski was “at the top” of Biden’s mind, since he will meet with her parents tomorrow. Jean-Pierre refused to say whether Biden thinks Waloski is still alive.
BIDEN WILL TURN 80 IN LATE NOVEMBER, as speculation persists — in the right-wing media but mostly in private — about his mental state. Biden has his good days, and he can deliver a speech effectively when using a teleprompter. But his aides are extremely reluctant to schedule press conferences, where he often veers off script, as he did in a “60 Minutes” interview on CBS two weeks ago.
WE GET MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ISSUE than any other when meeting with clients, who almost unanimously believe Biden is in rapid decline. But we have talked with people who have met with Biden at the White House who say he’s on top of major issues, more detail-oriented than Donald Trump ever was.
THIS INCIDENT OVER REP. WALOSKI will elevate Biden’s mental state as a major political issue. A majority Democratic voters don’t want him to run again, but that
view isn’t shared — yet — among Democrats in Congress. If they lose the House in
November, which seems likely, the pressure will grow on Biden to announce that he
won’t run again.
IN HIS “60 MINUTES” INTERVIEW, Biden seemed to acknowledge that he might not run again. To be brutally candid, the issue isn’t whether he will run — the issue is whether he can hang on for two more years.
THE PROBLEM FOR THE DEMOCRATS is that there’s no logical successor. Kamala Harris has been a disappointment but she could the top contender in a crowded field in 2024. Bernie Sanders wants to run again but he’s 81 with a history of heart problems. Gavin Newsom would be an exciting candidate, but he’s probably too liberal for the country.
THIS IS MORE THAN A POLITICAL STORY — it’s about a horrible disease that afflicts millions of victims and their families; an exciting new drug won’t arrive in time for people who are 80.
JOE BIDEN SEEMS TO BE CONFUSED SOMETIMES, as he was in yesterday’s cringe-inducing episode, and the inevitable question that his Cabinet may have to consider is whether the country can afford a president who gets confused. The 25th amendment to the Constitution stipulates a process in which a president can be removed; we’re not there yet but there will be a torrent of commentary in the next few days about Biden’s mental state.
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