Have you noticed that there seems to be a campaign emerging to second guess Joe Biden’s decision to run for reelection? Throughout his first term as president, the legacy media and progressive online sites have turned a blind eye to Biden’s obvious decline, both mentally and physically. Suddenly something changed. Over the weekend, two major newspapers published editorials pointing out that Biden’s age cannot be ignored.
The Wall Street Journal noted that Biden is in “obvious decline” and that reelecting the octogenarian would be a historical mistake. The New York Times published its version of an editorial declaring Biden as too old to be president. Like the WSJ, the NYT said that everyone ages differently. However, when a reporter questions him about his age and the ability to do the job, Biden’s stock answer is “Watch me.” Cute but it doesn’t square with his actions. He hides from the press, spending 40% of his time as president away from the White House at one of his two homes in Delaware or at Camp David. His staff runs interference for him and keeps the press corps away from him. Biden rarely gives a press conference. There is no “watching” him at all. Concerns about Biden’s age are legit, says the NYT editorial.
But Mr. Biden has given voters very few chances to do just that — to watch him — and his refusal to engage with the public regularly raises questions about his age and health.
The usual White House method of demonstrating a president’s mastery is to take tough questions in front of cameras, but Mr. Biden has not taken advantage of that opportunity, as The Times reported on Friday. He has held fewer news conferences and media interviews than most of his modern predecessors. Since 1923, only Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan took fewer questions per month from reporters, and neither represents a model of presidential openness that Mr. Biden should want to emulate. His reticence has created an opening for critics and skeptics.
