As a man so far from being a spring chicken, I am a fricassee; I found it silly to address The Trip. For the few unaware of the trip, President Biden took a tumble over an ill-placed sandbag on stage after a graduation speech at the Air Force Academy. Mr. Biden—with assistance, arose from the embarrassing fall, returned to the White House, and resumed his day. Of course, Fox News played the fall on a loop with the usual commentary of feeble old Joe demonstrating why he is mentally and physically unable to perform his job. Of course, the obvious contradiction to their narrative was that Mr. Biden had just completed what one disgruntled Republican labeled as getting ‘outsmarted by a President who can’t find his pants,’said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
In more than one instance where President Biden has been accused of bordering on or being senile, he has eaten the Republicans’ lunch. Aside from the trip, have we all forgotten the setup?
In February, Mr. Biden acknowledged the long-standing GOP position of curtailing Medicare and Social Security during his State of the Union message — leaving seniors and disabled people with a hard fall—sans a safety net. Although subsequent statements from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who promised a commission to look into savings from Social Security and Medicare, lent credence to the President’s warning, the Republicans erupted at the State of the Union address with hoots, howls, and shouts of “liar.” Biden tamed the public rebellion by obtaining a boisterous promise from Republicans that they would not touch Social Security or Medicare. He answered the GOP scowled faces and shouts, saying, “Folks—so folks, we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? …We’ve got unanimity,”said Biden.
The GOP members in the gallery were so bamboozled that they did not realize how easily they walked into their duh moment until later.
The brilliantly placed ad-lib in Biden’s speech allowed the President to bolster two essential planks in the Democratic platform while at the same time making Republicans believe they had embarrassed him. The tomfoolery of the GOP gallery recently paid more dividends when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took her turn to preside over the House to laughter when she called for decorum. “The members are reminded to abide by the decorum of the House,”she said, resulting in genuine hilarity from Democrats and face-saving smirks from some Republicans. Mr. Biden, time and time again, has demonstrated a savvy grasp of politicking. The occasional loss of words for a man who has overcome a lifelong stutter is rarely—if ever, acknowledged by the press while exploited by his detractors.
Falling is not reserved for elders, nor are odd circumstances that cause them. The then twenty-nine-year-old former Major League Baseball player Milton Bradley tore his ACL in 2007 while being pushed away during an argument with an umpire. He made a comeback the following season making the All-Star team. Joe Biden has performed like an all-star despite the derision and debate about his age and fitness. Mr. Biden has a record of accomplishments favorably rivaling any predecessor. The former President is fond of saying promises made and promises kept, but most are a figment of his imagination, much like his assertion of the declassification of documents or construction of a border wall paid for by Mexico by just thinking about it. Talk about senility; fitness is being directed at the wrong man.
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