We’ve mentioned this on the Triggered Podcast. Spencer and Katie have both written columns about it. The degeneration of Joe Biden is happening before our eyes, with noted episodes of mental and physical decline. He’s talked about railroads built over oceans. He collapsed during the US Air Force Academy’s commencement address. And he devolved into a mumbling, incoherent mess in front of Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The revelation that he’s an all-around terror in the Oval Office, with aides being subjected to verbal abuse, is in keeping with the anger one experiences when facing mental decline; they can’t keep up. Reportedly, aides often asked someone to accompany them, acting like a bulletproof vest from the old man's fury.
Last July, before the 2022 midterms, the stories about Biden’s age, lack of vigor, and grumblings among national Democrats about his re-election chances dominated the press for about two weeks. My guess: More than a few committee members at the DNC wanted a red wave to make the case that Joe had to go. The opposite happened: the GOP fumbled one of the most manageable election cycles in recent memory.
But with COVID over, Biden will have to do multiple events, which will only multiply after Election Day 2024 draws nearer and in various states. He can’t do it. Joe skipped the NATO summit opening dinner because he was gassed after less than three days of work and had spent the weekend before the event on the beach in Delaware. With his bare-bones re-election apparatus and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom getting his name more in press circulation, is Biden indeed running for re-election?
Over at RedState, Bonchie had the details about the president’s lackadaisical approach to his 2024 campaign. By this point in the 2012 cycle, Obama had spent $10 million. Biden has yet to pass the $1.5 million mark, though what’s odd about that is that Joe isn’t struggling for funds, nor will he be this cycle:
The first possibility is simple: Biden knows he’s not going to be the nominee.
That could be why Vice President Kamala Harris is suddenly trying to boost herself by going after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Though, the more likely outcome given Harris’ historic unpopularity and hard ceiling of support is that Democrats are banking on California Gov. Gavin Newsom. He’s already been making waves by traveling the country and picking fights with red-state governors
A lot of Republicans will hear me say that and laugh, but Newsom should be taken seriously. Has he destroyed his own state with a litany of horrible policy decisions? Yes, but he’s a slick talker and exactly the kind of figure suburban women tend to swoon over. And guess who pretty much decides our national elections these days? That would be suburban women. I don’t dismiss Newsom at all. If he were to become the Democrat nominee, Republicans would face a far tougher challenge than if Biden remained in place.
That leads me to the second possibility: Biden believes Donald Trump is going to be the nominee.
Trump becoming the odds-on favorite to win the GOP nomination has been a soothing development for Biden and his ghost campaign. Maybe that’s naive? Maybe it’s playing with fire and the current president will get burned? I’m not arguing those points, and I’m certainly not telling you who to vote for. What I am saying is that there’s no doubt who Biden wants to run against, and that’s important in analyzing his current posture.
There will be no debates and no actual primaries, so I could see why the engines are not going full tilt, but its operation almost has the makings of a shell corporation. People answer phones for the sole purpose of showing that someone is there on the paperwork. When asked why no one is around, Biden’s team says the “skeletal quality” is the plan. So, that’s what Biden’s mental state and his 2024 campaign share: both are braindead.
