The toughest questions families with aging relatives face must now be answered about America’s president: How much is too much forgetfulness, and what are we going to do about it?
It’s no secret that President Joe Biden has been exhibiting signs that could indicate dementia since the 2020 presidential campaign.
Though he successfully fudged his way through to win the race with a three-pronged strategy — hiding out, staying on script and letting media do the rest — the increased pressures and unavoidable visibility while in office have exposed the 78-year-old’s undeniable cognitive difficulties.
He’s had trouble walking up stairs. He’s misquoted America’s founding documents — multiple times. He’s committed serious blunders like mixing up the names of nations while speaking about America’s position in the world.
And then there was that bizarre whispering episode that was both cringe-inducing and worrying to witness.
However, Biden just recently forgot key details of an official trip he returned from less than two weeks ago — a frightening prospect considering the diplomatic aim of the many meetings on the itinerary for that trip.
According to Fox News, Biden was speaking at a virtual fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee on Monday when he recalled an extra five days that never happened during his recent trip to meet world leaders throughout Europe, including participating in both the G-7 and NATO summits.
“And I just got back, by the way, from Europe after being there for, I guess, 13 days,” he said of his trip that lasted eight days, beginning with his June 10 meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ending June 17.
“I don’t — I forget how many days,” he fumbled. “And I met for five days with the G-7 nations,” he said of the summit that was actually three days long in Cornwall, U.K.
“I also — and then there were four others that were there — India, Australia. And I won’t go through all the detail; it’d be too boring for you,” he claimed.
“And then I went to a NATO meeting with all the — all the NATO representatives there and the heads of state. And then I went to meet with Putin,” he said of his fruitless meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There’s no doubt with all of the important meetings and opportunities to press the flesh with heads of state that his itinerary would have been a topic discussed for weeks leading up to the trip.
He should remember at least how long the jaunt was even if he can’t grasp the details, but his forgetfulness makes sense in light of all the many humiliating moments that happened there, including a full 28 seconds where he couldn’t get a thought out before leaders of the European Union.
"And uh, I've said before and I apologize for the – Oh, I didn't Jake Sullivan from the State Department [inaudible]. I'm leaving out a lot of people here I apologize. I'm going to get in trouble. But, anyway, we'll get back to that. But um we um you know…" – President Biden. pic.twitter.com/7buuCpNzm7
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) June 15, 2021
The left will never admit it — and Vice President Kamala Harris is surely secretly counting on it — but there will come a time when America will have to face the fact that Biden is increasingly becoming unfit for office.
While Biden’s gaffes, missteps and mess-ups may have been great fodder for campaign humor, it’s terrifying now that he’s the man with the nuclear launch codes.
There is a serious risk to the nation having a man at the helm who is losing his cognitive functioning, and it looks like it will be a slow and sad public descent into dementia for Biden.
