As the video of Joe Biden slipping, tumbling, and falling on the stairs walking up to Air Force One spread on social media, I quickly noticed a number of comments in my feed from people on the left scoffing at the attention it was getting and writing it off as a trivial event we should be forgetting about and moving on from. The White House quickly started making excuses for Biden’s fall, saying that it was because of strong winds.
It’s obvious from the video wind was the not issue.
Yet, the left wants to convince us this story is much ado about nothing. Chances are, for most people, and most presidents, it would be.
Here’s the thing: It is a story. For a lot of reasons.
Just ask CNN’s Chris Cillizza, who wrote a piece titled “Why the Donald Trump-West Point ramp story actually matters” regarding the viral video of President Trump carefully descending a ramp following his June 2020 commencement speech at West Point. The ramp had no railing, and after repeated viewings of the video, I still don’t understand why anyone made a big deal out of it.
According to Cillizza, Trump’s age, and alleged questions about his health made the incident a story.
You bet CNN's Chris Cillizza was all up in arms over Trump's West Point visit, telling Brianna Keilar that it was a big deal and a big concern because "Trump is 74 years old" and "we know so little about" his "past medical history" pic.twitter.com/ZtIet6eaqH
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 19, 2021
So, where is Cillizza on the Biden falling on the stairs story? At the time of this writing, he’s not said a word. But if Cillizza were to treat Biden the same way he treated Trump, he would note that at 78, Joe Biden took office as the oldest man to occupy the White House. He would cite the fact that Biden has had brain surgery twice following a brain aneurysm and make references to the plethora of evidence that Biden has been suffering from cognitive decline. Cillizza would be remiss to not point out that the day prior to this infamous fall heard ’round the world, Biden called Kamala Harris “President Harris,” and in recent weeks, he’s forgotten the names of his own defense secretary, and other colleagues in government.
As for questions about Joe Biden’s health, I’d fully expect Cillizza, if he treated Biden the same way as Trump, to point out that last year Joe Biden refused to take the same cognitive test President Donald Trump had “aced” a month prior.
As PJMedia’s Stephen Green noted at the time, his explanation showed exactly why he should have taken one. “No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test?” Biden said in response to a question from Erroll Barnett of CBS News. “C’mon, man!” he said after a long pause. “That’s like saying you, before you got in this program if you take a test where you’re taking cocaine or not, what do you think, huh? Are you a junkie?” It got worse from there.
Back when Trump’s ramp descent was the talk of the media, Cillizza even blamed Trump for making Biden’s mental health an issue as his inconsequential ramp descent was being made into a big story. “This is a what’s-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander situation,” wrote Cillizza. “If Trump can openly question the physical and mental fitness of his Democratic opponents, then when there is a moment where he looks frail, it is absolutely fair game to ask questions about his own well-being — particularly given his age and how little we know about his medical past.”
You got that? It was Trump’s fault it was a story! So, has Joe Biden not invited scrutiny for his fall since even he mocked Trump’s innocuous ramp descent? “Look at how he steps and look at how I step. Watch how I run up ramps and he stumbles down ramps. Okay? Come on.”
FLASHBACK -> Biden mocks Trump's ramp walk at West Point and claims he's stronger: "Look at how he steps and look at how I step. Watch how I run up ramps and he stumbles down ramps. Come on." pic.twitter.com/U7CL0dBSQA
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 19, 2021
President Trump carefully descended a ramp without assistance. Every time I watch it I’m still baffled why anyone made a big deal about it. Joe Biden fell three times trying to go up a flight of stairs. Advantage: Trump.
Conservative media has been raising questions about Biden’s mental health for over a year now, as we’ve been repeatedly convinced that Joe Biden isn’t healthy enough to handle the presidency. But the media played defense for Biden then, and they’re still doing it now:
It's amazing how things change: pic.twitter.com/fr2vG3Yxa1
— John Sexton (@verumserum) March 19, 2021
_____
Matt Margolis is the author of Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter, Gab, Facebook, MeWe, Heroes, Rumble, and CloutHub.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member