We all see Joe Biden for what he is: a guy who should be in a nursing home but is running the country instead—and poorly, I might add. Biden’s former press secretary, the Circle Back Girl herself, Jen Psaki, can’t seem to avoid the discussion about how Joe Biden’s advanced age and cognitive decline are causing problems for Biden and his prospects for 2024.
Psaki, who has her own MSNBC show now, participated in a panel discussion on journalist Kara Swisher’s podcast that was released Thursday, and the issue of Biden’s age of course came up.
“Does it help or hurt that there’s other elderly people struggling in our political universe? Right. You see Dianne Feinstein, Mitch McConnell having his moments. Does that affect it, that everyone’s thinking—old Congress and there’s the head of it,” Swisher asked Psaki.
“It unquestionably hurts,” Psaki replied.
According to Psaki, there’s a feeling “of like, these people are so old. They’re so old and white and they’re disconnected from what we’re experiencing and what we’re living. And all of them are old. And why are all these old people running Washington?”
Right. Biden’s problem isn’t his cognitive decline, but it’s a perception thing that is exacerbated by other old people in Congress. Does that make any sense to you? Biden isn’t the problem; it’s Feinstein and McConnell who are making things bad for Biden. Can you believe that? And on top of that, it’s not just because they’re old, it’s because they’re “old and white.”
However, Psaki conceded that there are differences between each elderly politician. “They’re not the same, obviously. Different health — all the things, we can explain it, but when you’re explaining it, it’s kind of a challenge. So I think it’s unquestionably bad,” she said.
Then she insisted that American voters aren’t all that concerned about the age issue.
“Biden and the Biden and Harris team in the White House have challenges about running for reelection. Unquestionably, we’re talking about them,” Psaki said. “That is not the conversation happening in the country. That is a conversation outlined in that op-ed that is happening at dinner parties in Washington and maybe some other coastal cities.”
While it’s true that Americans are more concerned with the economy and Biden’s poor handling of it than his age, polls have consistently shown that voters are, in fact, concerned about Biden’s age and cognitive decline. Pretending that Biden is the victim of perception because of McConnell and Feinstein is incredibly disingenuous. A recent CBS News/YouGov survey found that 44% of voters think that Biden would leave office before finishing a second term, and only 34% are confident he’d complete a second term. The problem is Biden.
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