Tipsheet

Biden Isn't Even a 'Sundowner.' It's Much Worse.

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  June 30, 2024 6:00 AM

Joe Biden got dog walked by Donald Trump on Thursday night. It was a drumming that, quite frankly, might be unrecoverable. It’s why Democrats everywhere are popping Paxil and chugging whisky to cope because they’re stuck. Sure, there’s talk about how to replace Biden, but that ship sailed months ago. Democrats are now stuck with an impossible situation because not even that little rally in North Carolina the following day, where Biden was livelier, can repair the damage that’s been done. In the aftermath, the Biden White House is leaking like a sieve, with aides chirping that the president is only functional during a six-hour window (via Axios): 

The public split screen isn't new to many inside the White House, where top aides have meticulously stage-managed minutiae such as Biden's sleep schedule, his orthopedic shoes, his walks to Marine One and his climb aboard Air Force One to try to blunt concerns about his age. 

Internally, many aides have seen flashes of an absent-minded Biden, but typically brush them off as ordinary brain farts because they usually see him engaged, eight current and former Biden officials told Axios. 

But Thursday's debate has shattered the White House's efforts to show Biden at his best: a president capable of serving until 2029, when he'd be 86. 

[…] 

Biden's miscues and limitations are more familiar inside the White House. 

The time of day is important as to which of the two Bidens will appear. 

From 10am to 4pm, Biden is dependably engaged — and many of his public events in front of cameras are held within those hours. 

Outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued, aides told Axios.

Biden isn't even a sundowner. He conks out by 4pm, but that might even be true: 

The report was filed by Alex Thompson, who went on CNN after Thursday's debate to castigate the Biden administration for downplaying, pivoting, and obscuring what the American public has long known about the president: he’s too old, feeble, and dementia-ridden to do the job.