“I am a machine full of mistakes,” he once admitted when confronted with his own nonsense, when he had not yet run for the presidency of the United States, but he was already famous for having served first as a senator and as Barack's President Obama, who would later become Vice President, often made etiquette errors, talked too much and generally naively deviated from the script his advisers had prepared for him, sometimes leading to laughter, sometimes discomfort, sometimes embarrassment.
Joe Biden has always been seen by a large part of the American electorate with a certain openness, an “often silly but charming” politician, as The Guardian newspaper described him. Even Obama himself allowed himself to joke at his own expense, such as when he was asked about his vice president's confusing statements the day before and replied, “I don't remember exactly what Joe meant, as expected.”
However, the condescension of the American public that voted for him in 2020 appears to be giving way to concern and doubt, especially after District Attorney Robert Hur, who was investigating him for taking confidential documents, portrayed him this way on Thursday, February 8th. A nice old man with good intentions and a bad memory.”
In the report in which he announced that he would not press charges against him, the prosecutor listed – with or without intent, that is still unknown – a series of situations in which Biden's memory appeared to be in increasingly poor condition, such as the year his son Beau died – a defining event in his life – or the moment he stopped being vice president –
Hur said the president did indeed take home banned documents, but said no jury would think he did it with bad intentions but would likely view him with compassion. “It would be difficult to persuade a jury to convict him (by then he would be a former president in his 80s) of a serious crime requiring a state of mind capable of carrying out intentional acts,” the official wrote when describing a good-natured and blameless grandfather, not the ruler of the most powerful nation in the world.
That same night, Biden angrily appeared before the media to reject the Hur report and reassure Americans that his memory was in good working order and that he was fully capable of not only leading his country, but also running for re-election to run for office.
The problem is that while he vehemently defended his abilities, he made the mistake of confusing the President of Mexico, Andrés López Obrador, with the President of Egypt, Abdelfatah El-Sisi. And that days ago he also confused French President Emmanuel Macron with one of his predecessors, François Mitterrand. And he also confused former German Prime Minister Angela Merkel with one of his predecessors, Helmut Kohl.
The problem is that Joe Biden has been mixing up positions, names and dates for several years, making slips and gaffes that, in addition to the question of his age – he is 81 – raise the question of whether he is really prepared for a second term.
Clumsiness and confusion
The list of his mistakes seems endless. He once encouraged a Missouri senator he was praising to stand for applause, but the senator was in a wheelchair. In the 2007 Democratic primary, he wanted to praise his rival Obama by saying he was the first mainstream African-American who was eloquent, brilliant and “clean.” And once at a ceremony he said some heartfelt words about the death of the mother of the Irish Prime Minister who had visited him, until he realized that it was not the mother who had died, but the father.
Rival. Donald Trump is 77 years old, just four years younger than Biden. Photo: Distribution
During his three-year term, his clumsiness was compounded by scenes of confusion in which he is seen finishing his speeches without knowing what to do next or where to go.
“I don’t think he’s unfit to be president today,” says Norberto Barreto, a professor at PUCP and doctor of United States history. The problem is that if he wins, he will start his second term at 82 and end it at 86. He won't improve, he won't get any younger, his communication will deteriorate.
Biden isn't exactly a popular president today: just 38% of Americans approve of him (down from 40% in December). For many of his compatriots, however, it remains an alternative, as on the other side is the xenophobe, advocate of fake news and tax fraud, Donald Trump.
In most polls, now nine months before the elections, the fight is evenly matched. In the latest Quinnipiac University study, Biden receives 50% of support and Trump 45%, although there are other polls that put the real estate tycoon in the lead. The truth, according to Norberto Barreto, is that, faced with a candidate as vulnerable as the current president, the best scenario for Democrats is to compete with Trump and not, for example, with Republican Nikki Haley, who, according to Quinnipiac University Yes, he would win the election against Biden win.
“There are people who already consider him dead, but I don't rule it out,” says the PUCP professor. Especially because Trump is there. The Trump campaign is showing it has no intention of controlling itself within democratic parameters by stoking fear and disorder and continuing its talk that the election was stolen from them. Democrats are betting that Trump's dissenting vote will give Biden victory, as it did in 2020. However, it is still a dangerous bet.
It is also true that Trump is only four years younger than the incumbent president and that he has his own history of gaffes: for example, he confused Biden with Obama, Obama with Hillary Clinton, Hungary with Turkey and Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. However, voters are not questioning his intellectual abilities as much as those of his Democratic rival: An NBC News poll a few days ago showed Trump leading Biden by 16 points when asked which candidate was more competent and effective.
Barreto said as November 5 approaches, it will be critical for Biden's leadership to better communicate this administration's accomplishments and minimize situations that could put the president at risk of further mistakes.
“You can’t hide him because he’s the president of the United States,” he says. They cannot rejuvenate it, but they can talk more about the government's achievements in the economy, for example. The key factors will be the economy and the threat posed by Trump, which can mobilize many people.
The word
Norberto Barreto, international analyst
“The problem is not his current condition. The problem is that if Biden wins, he will begin his second term at age 82 and would end up 86. His memory will not improve, his communication will worsen…”