I want to highlight this tweet from James Fallows:
Biden at last night's presser:
1) He looks, sounds, "reads as," and is ... old.
2) He also walked across an absolute minefield of issues and Qs — PRC/Taiwan, detente-but-diff w Xi, Gaza, Ukr, etc—without any missteps.
#2 is much harder than it seem. He is still doing the job.
— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) November 16, 2023
There is, obviously, not much that can be done about the fact that Biden reads as old. But having now listened to a number of Biden's recent speaking gigs, there's really no question that this is solely about his physical appearance. Cognitively, Biden is perfectly normal. The worst he ever does is the occasional verbal flub, a longtime Biden habit.
Agree with him or not, he says what he means to say and has obviously run the White House to his own specifications. He withdrew from Afghanistan despite internal qualms. He continued negotiating with Joe Manchin even though much of his staff hated the guy. He is staunchly pro-Israel in the face of a virtual staff revolt. He thinks Xi Jinping is a dictator and has repeated this through the grimaces of his Secretary of State.
Contrast that with Donald Trump, who doesn't read as old but can barely remember who the president is, who he's run against in the past, and how many world wars we've had.
We can either have the charade of an active president with a deteriorating mind behind it, or we can have an actual active president with a strong mind but physical limitations. Which would you rather have?
The one that isn't going to destroy democracy in the US.
Again, Trump's mind doesn't seem to be deteriorating. He's just a fucking idiot.
No. It's deteriorating. He successfully ran a sprawling criminal enterprise for several decades. That took a reasonable degree of animal cunning. In fairness, many years ago he also pulled off one, fairly successful development deal at a time when that wasn't so easy (Trump Tower). Check out Youtube video some time of Trump's appearances on talk shows 35 years ago. He sounded articulate in those days. Not any longer.
It frankly would be surprising if a man at his age and with his obesity issues hadn't started to shown significant signs of serious cognitive decline.
Trump has never possessed a great deal of general knowledge in the wonkish sense. He clearly isn't well educated in the commonly understood sense of that term (despite his fancy Ivy League degree). But once upon a time Trump gave off the generally "bright" vibe of a successful (if super scammy) businessman from a cosmopolitan background. Those days are long over in my opinion.
FDR did reasonably well from his wheelchair
I’m going with strong mind, physical limitations
Nerd vs. jock. Guess which one ends up Homecoming King. Some things never change.
Threw up a little bit in my mouth thinking of voters characterizing Trump as a "jock."
Exactly - especially since his theory is that one is born with a set amount of energy, which might explain his choice of energy-saving sport - using a cart to play golf, while maintaining that imposing physique.
So he appears to be "high-octane" only if that is synonymous with high-volume, plus wild arm motions, & the occasional dish breakage accompanied by occasional ketchup dispersal. Peehaps Kevin Drum should have used different descriptions - after all, Biden can still ride a bike.
If you look at the drawings/paintings Trump voters like to display he looks more like a super hero. I really think they see him that way. Also, when he looks in a mirror that’s what he sees.
Jocks are only athletic in their youth. Most jocks end up with physiques like Donald's as they age. As a kid I wondered if it would be better to be a "jock" instead of a "brain". After a full life (and informed by attending HS reunions) I am grateful for being a "brain".
After this weeks "Thunderdome in the Rotunda"? Obviously Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho.
Mike Johnson hangs cult-of-treason-and-the-mentally-ill flag outside his office,
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/mike-johnson-christian-nationalist-appeal-to-heaven-flag-1234873851/
a flag that was carried by hundreds of baboons as they attacked the US capitol.
Door no. 3, please … voters can be forgiven if they assume Biden won’t make it through another term . So what they are voting for is for Kamala Harris to become prez, which hurts the campaign.
Trump is just as likely to keel over in the next 4 years. Don’t know if it will be “President” Don Jr. or “President” Tucker Carlson but either way I’d definitely prefer President Harris.
Mike Lindell? Elise Stefanik?
Actuarial tables can only give the odds of survival on average, and the president is anything but average. So it's a bit of a swag, but here's my guess:
Odds Biden survives next term: 6 in 10 or better
Odds Trump survives next term: about 7 in 10*
Odds Trump loses his mind in that time: 99 out of 100
* Assuming first-rate healthcare at the federal pen
Does your calculation take into account that all three of Trump's siblings died of cardiovascular disease (heart attack or stroke)?
How does that hurt the campaign?
Trump looks pretty old to me, and I'm only ten years younger than him.
I'm three year younger and he looks like an idiot.
He's always looked like an idiot, even in those old pictures of him at Club 54. Now he looks like an OLD idiot.
No fool like an old fool.
A vote for a deceased Joe Biden would be a better choice than a vote for Mag-a-Lardo, as would a vote for an American to be selected random at a later date.
A vote for the guy promising to destroy our democracy will never be the better choice.
Seems like MrDrum is comparing Biden to Trump, in terms of “looking/acting/seeming old”. But both are rather known quantities at this point, and their parties’ goals/platforms fairly stable, aren’t most people already locked in to who they like already? Are there people who think “Biden seems too old” who would switch to Trump for that reason (or vice versa)?
Seems like MrDrum’s point is more relevant to show Biden’s right-wing critics are basically ridiculous hypocrites and dishonest smarmy hacks. But I think they know this about themselves, they just have different goals for their lies - cashing their checks or switching to the team most likely to bomb the people they don’t like.
But just superficially speaking : Biden does seem to appear older than people we are accustomed to as President. Seems like it’s the stone face, lack of movement (Botox or Parkinson’s)?… plus the stiff neck, bradykinesia. ..
Trump is of course his own special kind of dumb mess.
> Biden does seem to appear older than people we are accustomed to as President
Um, yeah, because the median age of presidents is 55 years. Biden is old.
Kevin (and many others) are irritated by progressives who say "Biden is too old" when they know full and well it is in all likelihood going to be Biden vs. Trump.
Biden is going to be the Dem's candidate, now get behind him unless you prefer Trump.
Good points, but really?
“Contrast that with Donald Trump, who doesn't read as old but can barely remember who the president is”
Trump doesn’t read as old? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not my intention to promote any kind of ageism;
I’m just saying that trump does not exactly come across as young.
Agree, and I’m only a couple years younger than TFG. But I can ride a bike or hike a hilly New England trail for hours at a stretch.
If you only hear Biden without seeing any visuals, you can easily find yourself pretty impressed with what he says and how he says it. The press corps and some others should try it sometime.
When he did his first full-scale press conference I was driving and caught it on the radio, and I couldn't imagine where all the negative comment was coming from. It was political reporters who were there and others who saw it on tv. They couldn't get past one or two peripheral points that were their own hobbyhorses, or the visuals. On radio, what came through was the structure of how he was thinking about the world and how the pieces fit together.
Didn't Rove used to say politics is tv with the sound off? A real handicap because sound is Biden's strength and is where trump's crazy really jumps out at you.
OTH, I have to ask how people think a pudgy, pasty, jowly face that's obviously coated in a thick spray of orange paint and topped by some kind of outrageous animal pelt looks young to people. That visual should be at least as fatal to him as Biden's stiffness.
Thank you. I get nearly all my news via radio (and the online mainstream papers), and I share your opinion of Joe Biden v Trump.
I was once trapped (on the treadmill) listening to an hour's worth of a press conference by The Defendant. It was bonkers, and grew increasingly so as he went on and on and ON, saying the same things over and over in the same words.
Lefties may gripe about Biden's age now ... and in so doing, even scare themselves and others away from the polls altogether. This would be inbconscienable, because the presidency will not be the only thing on the ballot.
Also, when you actually get into that voting booth and see that your choice is Old Joe Biden or Would-be Autocrat Trump, it should tend to make the decision obvious. Of course, this is where third party spoilers will really screw things up.
Indeed, I heard Biden's China remarks on the radio and figured if more "Dementia Joe" types heard it, the cognitive dissonance would unscrew their heads off their necks.
Isn't this what they said about the Kennedy vs Nixon TV debate? That listeners who couldn't see Dick's sweat & 5 o'clock shadow thought he sounded presidential? Does that mean Trump is Jack Kennedy??
I have made it 2 4years terms past Binden's age.
Getting wobbly but still have two neurons sparking.
Go Joe!!!
Go, dd!
The two are less than four years apart. tЯump's physical condition is much worse than Biden's, thanks to eating mostly junk food, not exercising, and being fat.
So I'll take the one in better physical and mental condition.
> Donald Trump, who doesn't read as old
Seems old as f to me. Pete and Kamala don't read as old. I suppose AOC isn't old enough yet?
You forgot to include that Biden has shifted US policy of strategic ambiguity with regards to Taiwan, which is a really big deal.
And to the thrill of blue collar unions, Biden's actions (Inflation Reduction Act) has triggered a rush of spending in manufacturing capacity and the repatriation away from (specifically) China.
he needs a Robert E Lee type beard. make him look distinguished and help with Southern vote.
Those are people who would never, ever vote Democrat.
Trump comes across as more physically engaged which reads as virile, because he's really throwing everything he has into it, as opposed to Biden's, and any Democrat's quieter more cerebral and distant affect.
A steady hand on the tiller doesn't make for great tv.
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