By Steve BermanYou know when you hit a sensitive spot. For Trump, it was the size of his…hands. For Biden, it’s when the New York Times reports “In a hurriedly arranged nighttime televised appearance at the White House, a defiant Mr. Biden offered a feisty defense of his actions and his capacity to run the country.” (Emphasis mine.) He’s feisty.
If you’ve dealt with elderly people, especially Alzheimer’s patients, you know the term “sundowner.” I’ll quote from our government:
Late afternoon and early evening can be difficult for some people with Alzheimer’s disease. They may experience sundowning—restlessness, agitation, irritability, or confusion that can begin or worsen as daylight begins to fade—often just when tired caregivers need a break.
“Tips for Coping With Sundowning” – National Institute on Aging
Fox News: “I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing,” Biden said. “I’ve been president. I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation.” Biden could not get worked up like this trying to pass a border bill, or aid for Ukraine. Mention his age, or his memory, and he’s all feisty. This is the kind of moment that sticks with people.
You’d think that a special counsel not charging President Biden for willfully retaining and disclosing classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen (paraphrasing Robert Hur’s report) would be good news. Instead, Hur’s brutal reason why Biden should not be charged is much worse than any court could deal out.
In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (“if it was 2013 – when did I stop being Vice President?”), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (“in 2009, am I still Vice President?”). He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died. And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he “had a real difference” of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Eiden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama.
In a case where the government must prove that Mr. Biden knew he had possession of the classified Afghanistan documents after the vice presidency and chose to keep those documents, knowing he was violating the law, we expect that at trial, his attorneys would emphasize these limitations in his recall.
The Democrats have a president who should be considered for a 25th Amendment determination of incapacity. Either Robert Hur’s version of Biden’s interview is a fabrication in which case, Biden meant to keep classified files at his house, something Trump is currently charged with doing; or he’s incapable of standing trial because his lawyers can “emphasize these limitation” regarding Biden’s mental lapses.
If Hur is right, the image of an aging, addled Biden will haunt the campaign all the way to the polls in November. If Hur is making it up, then Trump can claim he’s been railroaded by a weaponized government set to take him down by any means.
The sane path would be for Biden to withdraw and support someone who could win in November and who isn’t Donald Trump. But who? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.? God, please, no.
Things are much, much worse than I thought. I believed that we had two bad candidates, one I will never vote for, and the other merely distasteful. And maybe that’s how it really is? But I have a hard time believing that version right now.
If it didn’t really matter—if nothing was going wrong and we were merely concerned with our retirement funds earning 5% or 10%—sure, let Biden sit for another four years. But it does matter. The southern border and the fate of millions of illegal aliens; the fate of Ukraine, and the ascendency of Russia; the Middle East exploding into genocide; the fate of Taiwan and the brutality of China; and the public debt of this country and our ability to repay it—these are just some of the issues whoever is running the government has to deal with in the next four years.
A guy who can’t remember when he was and was not vice president is not able to do it. A guy who has a moral center the size of a ragworm’s brain can’t be trusted to wield any amount of government power. Neither of these guys is likely to be knocked off their collision course toward November.
Right now feels like when, for a brief time at the turn of the 20th century, crashing two steam locomotives head-on was a spectator event. Except instead of locomotives, we have two wheelchairs and two feisty old men, neither of whom should be running our government.
I think Biden had his sundowner moment.
Follow Steve on Twitter @stevengberman.
The First TV contributor network is a place for vibrant thought and ideas. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of The First or The First TV. We want to foster dialogue, create conversation, and debate ideas. See something you like or don’t like? Reach out to the author or to us at ideas@thefirsttv.com.
