The More Trump Goes After Biden’s Mental And Physical State, The More We Doubt His Own
[guest post by Dana]
As the campaign heats up, Trump has adopted a strategy of attacking Joe Biden’s mental and physical capabilities. Not only is Trump going after Biden, he has also “instructed his advisers to attack Biden over his mental acuity” as well. Yet, as Trump punches back at videos which show him having difficulty in walking down a ramp, and holding a bottle (and cup) of water, his efforts only bring up questions about his own faculties. Anyway, I have no trouble believing this actually happened because it lines up with who we know Trump to be. It absolutely reflects what we’ve already seen and heard with our own eyes and ears:
The early June meeting in the Cabinet Room was intended as a general update on President Trump’s reelection campaign, but the president had other topics on his mind.
Trump had taken a cognitive screening test as part of his 2018 physical, and now, more than two years later, he brought up the 10-minute exam. He waxed on about how he’d dazzled the proctors with his stellar performance, according to two people familiar with his comments. He walked the room of about two dozen White House and reelection officials through some of the questions he said he’d aced, such as being able to repeat five words in order.
…Trump said he thought presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden would never be able to pass it and suggested challenging him to take the test, said the people familiar with Trump’s comments, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private details.
At Saturday’s rally in Tulsa, the president actually took 14 minutes defending both his slow walk down the ramp at West Point and his ability to lift a glass of water. He then backed up the latter defense by…lifting a glass of water and taking a sip. Other than firing up his base with righteous indignation and subsequent huzzahs for their persecuted hero, this really isn’t helping Trump the way he thinks it is. Because Biden is holed up in his basement due to Covid-19 concerns, his lack of in-person appearances all but guarantees him protection from his usual foot-in-mouth public gaffes and stumbles. All he has to do is shut-up and wait for Trump to step in it and do the work for him. And in this, Trump delivers.
–Dana
It’s so ironic that the more Trump tries to portray Biden as having lost his mental/phsical faculties, the more the spotlight focuses on his own.
Dana (25e0dc) — 6/23/2020 @ 9:42 amSadly, both candidates are teetering on dotage. We are screwed either way.
Hoi Polloi (dc4124) — 6/23/2020 @ 9:52 amIt seems like Trump will often respond with “I know you are but what am I?” as a defense. When he’s accused of something he’ll take that accusation and lob it back with as much volume and rage as he can. Given his skills at marketing and willingness to say anything this has worked for him.
I think this one could backfire for him. Bernie supporters ran the same play, and when Biden seemed normal in the debate with Sanders it took a lot of wind out of Sanders sails. It’s not just about lowering expectations. If you’ve brought people to the conclusion that they shouldn’t vote for Biden because he’s senile you’ve wasted all the time an energy that could have been spent defining him in another way. It’s not just about Money, it’s about the time voters will spend absorbing the message.
Time123 (89dfb2) — 6/23/2020 @ 9:54 amTrump is projecting his own health insecurities with the campaign’s attacks on Biden.
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:07 amMiami mayor says presidential debate may not have audience
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says he would welcome the presidential debate moving to his city in October, but he has doubts about whether it can be held with an audience because of coronavirus.
…..
Coronavirus infections and hospitalizations in Miami-Dade County have been increasing ever since joining the state’s Phase 2 reopening on June 5, giving Suarez and other leaders pause. Phase 3 is a full re-opening.
“Right now, we are not in Phase 3 so I can’t see it today being hosted with people in the audience. Impossible to predict where we will be on October 15,” Suarez said in a text message to POLITICO. “It’s possible that we may already be in Phase 3 by then, and it’s also possible that the debate can be held without people in the audience.”
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:10 am…..
Trump has been setting low expectations for Biden after the Democrat’s 10 relatively weak debate performances. However, in the 11th and final debate on March 15, Biden fared much better. The difference: it was a one-on-one debate, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, and had no crowd due to the onset of the pandemic.
…..
I don’t think the DNC could have done a better analysis. Lets see Trump flies from DC to Tulsa and then spends 90-120 minutes in front of 6,000 people, speaking without notes, and being funny and interesting. But that just shows Trump is decrepit, because he spent 14 minutes on making fun of the media and their obsession with a glass of water. The walls are closing in! Trump is on his last legs.
Meanwhile, poor Slow Joe is sitting in his basement with a mask on. But that just shows he’s smarter than Trump.
rcocean (2e1c02) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:24 amIf CV-19 means no audience for the POTUS debates, that’s a good thing. Nothing is more absurd than having some Fake “average americans” asked questions that the MSM have decided should be asked. Or having partisan’s in the crowd, oohing and aahing or clapping or being told to NOT clap. IRC< the JFK-NIXON debates had no audience, it was considered undignified. Lets go back to zero audience.
rcocean (2e1c02) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:27 amApparently sitting in the basement gets you 10 points up in the polls. Trump should try it instead of complaining that ramps are scary and his shoes suck. But he did drink water like a boss. Good for him. I’ve always wanted a president with the upper body strength to lift a cup.
Time123 (89dfb2) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:28 am@7 Serious comment. I think the Sander Biden debate was a lot better for the lack of an audience. I hope they do it that way for the presidential debates.
Time123 (89dfb2) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:29 amTrump’s enegy level for a 70 something has always been amazing. His ability to speak and hold press conferences with reporters who hate him has been astounding. Biden talks to no one except Reporters who are liberal Democrats He rarely speaks and never faces hostile questioning. I’m looking forward to his VP pick and meeting the real POTUS.
rcocean (2e1c02) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:30 am#9 – I agree. I have no idea why the audiences were/are invited to POTUS debates. I assume it was stared with Reagan-Carter and done because TV exces thought it would add something.
rcocean (2e1c02) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:33 am@11 Candidates like an audience. The reaction of the audience comes across and gives them another way to demonstrate popularity. Part of the prep planning is trying to find a way to stack the audience with supporters.
Time123 (89dfb2) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:36 amThis isn’t even about Biden being old. It’s about goading him into campaigning. He is supposed to be a great leader just to even believe he is up to the presidency. But he’s hiding.
A wise strategy for both sides. You can’t win, but you can lose by giving bored people an excuse to be outraged.
Dustin (e3a6ae) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:36 amHe’s an extrovert and (probably) a narcissist. He thrives on interacting with others, talking about himself and external positive feedback. Contrast his high energy delivery when he’s unscripted and talking about himself and his feelings with his low energy delivery when he’s working from a script.
Time123 (89dfb2) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:38 am“low energy delivery when he’s working from a script.”
Every time I see him attempt this I marvel that he had the lack of self-awareness to criticize Obama for using a teleprompter. He’s only interested if the subject is himself.
JRH (52aed3) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:42 amWhen Trump uses a teleprompter he sounds like a hostage reading a ransom demand.
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:45 amBiden’s strategy at the moment seems to be: lay low using the pandemic as an excuse/reason and let Trump hang himself with his own rope.
It’s not a bad strategy.
aphrael (7962af) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:52 amHere’s an example:
Trump says Obama may have committed treason
President Trump on Monday suggested without evidence that his predecessor, former President Obama, committed treason in connection with the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia.
“Treason. Treason. It’s treason,” Trump said in an interview with CBN News. The president did not elaborate on the specific charge but repeated his assertion that the previous administration “spied” on his campaign in the course of the Russia probe.
……
Elie Honig, a legal analyst and former federal prosecutor in New York, dismissed Trump’s claim Monday about Obama as “petty and ridiculous.”
“First, all the wiretaps were court-approved. Second, there’s no proof Obama had anything to do with those lawful wiretaps. And third, if we need to get technical (and we don’t because there’s nothing there) treason only applies during a declared war,” Honig told The Hill.
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 10:54 am…….
Until Monday, Trump had declined to name a specific crime he believed his predecessor committed.
…….
Over 120,000 people signed up for Biden fundraiser with Obama
More than 120,000 people signed up for Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden’s fundraiser with former President Obama, marking another sign of Obama’s star power among the Democratic base.
The Biden campaign first told The New York Times about the event’s confirmed attendees at Tuesday’s fundraiser, which marks the first Biden campaign event featuring Obama in the 2020 campaign cycle. Additionally, the campaign told the publication it has already brought in $4 million from the fundraiser.
Obama formally endorsed Biden in April, saying his former vice president “has all the qualities we need in a president right now.”
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:01 am……..
I wonder how many Republican tricksters signed up?
The media covers for Biden and his infirmity. Our local Sacramento AM radio show Armstrong and Getty plays an audio clip of Biden where he’s rambling, incoherent and that ends with a somnambulant-sounding Biden saying “wake up“ that is absolutely hilarious.
That clip is real, but I don’t think you’ll find it in a search.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:03 am….where he’s rambling, incoherent….
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:06 amA description that fits Trump to a T.
When Trump uses a teleprompter he sounds like a hostage reading a ransom demand.
When Biden uses one, he has a tendency to ramble, go off script and God knows where or which century he’ll take it.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:06 amThe More Trump Goes After Biden’s Mental And Physical State, The More We Doubt His Own
Disagree.
JoeyBee is the one who has had brain surgery.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:20 am17.Biden’s strategy at the moment seems to be: lay low…
Meh. It worked for George McClellan.
Until it didn’t.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:23 amNeither one of them is up to the job. One is remarkably ignorant, the other is senile. When Trump’s actual mental issues are dropped in late October, followed shortly by Biden’s in a display of MAD, we’ll all be voting write-in.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:27 amJoeyBee is the one who has had brain surgery.
He survived a brain aneurysm in the late 80’s. You could call it “brain surgery” if you like, but it’s lying by omission.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:30 amIt worked for George McClellan.
Both as a general and as a candidate.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:32 amMiami mayor says presidential debate may not have audience
At this rate, he’ll be more correct than he knows. A Trump-Biden debate is like the under-ticket in Roller Derby. Monotonous, loud and poorly done.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:35 am13.This isn’t even about Biden being old.
Except it is. His brief wake in Darby, PA said it all; ‘reality TeeVee’ both in words and pictures.
“No wonder your president has to be an actor. He’s gotta look good on television.” – Dr. Emmett Brown [Christopher Lloyd] ‘Back To The Future’ 1985
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:36 am@27. Until it didn’t.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:36 amE.U. May Exclude U.S. as It Reopens Borders, Citing Failures on Virus
European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times.
That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump’s handling of the virus in the United States……..
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:45 am…….
…… Today, Europe has largely curbed the outbreak, even as the United States, the worst-afflicted, has seen more infection surges just in the past week.
……..
@26. He survived a brain aneurysm in the late 80’s. You could call it “brain surgery” if you like, but it’s lying by omission.
1. Except it is not a lie.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/08/...
Brain surgery may also play a role. Biden had two brain aneurysms successfully treated 31 years ago.
And he had two, not one.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/...
Joe Biden almost died after suffering an aneurysm while serving in the Senate; surgeon operated on his brain…
Funny how brain suregeons call brain surgery what it is, brain surgery, isn’t it. If they like… 😉
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:46 amOne is remarkably ignorant, the other is senile.
The solution: Reaganoptics; Trump make for better entertainment.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 11:51 amI wonder if Trump would show at a debate that has no audience. He had the entire republican convention moved because he didn’t think NC would let enough people attend.
Nic (896fdf) — 6/23/2020 @ 12:18 pmEven if there *is* an audience, would trump show if the audience members were required to socially distance and wear masks?
can you imagine a debate between a mask-wearing biden and a non-mask-wearing trump?
aphrael (7962af) — 6/23/2020 @ 12:21 pmRIPMurdock: and the thing is that any other president in my lifetime would still be *trying* to do something about the pandemic. Trump, on the other hand, seems to want to pretend that it isn’t there because it makes him look bad.
aphrael (7962af) — 6/23/2020 @ 12:23 pmIt would appeal to both candidates’ followers because both sides think they are right.
DRJ (aede82) — 6/23/2020 @ 12:37 pm32… I remember the esteemed Dr. Michael K. wrote that once the skull is opened and the brain is exposed to air, there is a detrimental effect… I don’t remember the details.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/23/2020 @ 12:46 pmDRJ, at 37: it would also invite a moderator to ask Biden why he’s wearing a mask or to ask Trump why he’s not wearing a mask, allowing the other time to rebut.
I’m reasonably convinced that this would help Biden substantially with whatever remaining undecided voters there are.
aphrael (7962af) — 6/23/2020 @ 2:13 pmI guess I now think there really aren’t that many undecideds. Covid-19 and the subsequent protests have pushed voters into their respective camps, even those who may have been a little unsure about where they would land. After all, what new is there to learn about these two men and how they would govern? Both are known quantities, and I suspect that there are no surprises left to be unearthed.
The only critical factor that remains is: who will Biden pick for a running mate? Because almost certainly, he will be a one-term president (if he wins), and whoever is his running mate, will then become the 2024 Democratic nominee. That’s a big deal.
Dana (25e0dc) — 6/23/2020 @ 2:14 pm“Transition to greatness.”
Dave (1bb933) — 6/23/2020 @ 2:46 pm@20. Frankly, I’m astonished the press hasn’t jumped all over JoeyBee for being outed as a blatant plagiarist. It’s as bold a character tell as you’ll ever see. If it was one of their own, they’d be side-lined in the media biz PDQ. The press certainly nailed his azz on it back in the ’88 race and it forced him to end his campaign… [in Sept.,’87].
Joe Biden Quit 1988 Presidential Race Over Plagiarism and Lying
themillenniumreport.com/2019/05/joe-biden-quit-1988…
Biden’s plagiarism became a hot campaign issue which his 1988 Democratic rival, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, used in a video attack ad that was passed around to several media outlets, according to a Washington Post article in 1987. At the time, Biden dismissed the distribution of the video by other campaigns as dirty politics.
Say it ain’t so, Joe: stealing other people’s work product is “dirty politics”???
No. It’s just plain, lazy-azzed thievery.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 3:11 pmbecause the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of
acceptablefellow travelers seen by The New York Times.Minor edit…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/23/2020 @ 3:18 pmFrankly, I’m astonished that anyone actually cares about plagiarism in current time. I mean the current president is a conman, literally cannot tell the truth (not talking about actively lying, which is constant, he cannot tell what truth means), and is a hooker renting rapist, and pederast (with his man toy Cohn).
Plagiarism, how quaint.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/23/2020 @ 3:54 pm@14
“Probably” a narcissist?
PROBABLY?
lurker (d8c5bc) — 6/23/2020 @ 4:56 pmNow don’t hold me to this, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say tomorrow will probably be Wednesday.
lurker (d8c5bc) — 6/23/2020 @ 4:59 pmIf only he still had enough marbles in the jar to even contemplate plagiarism….
_
Andrew Solender
@AndrewSolender
Ever the retail politician, @JoeBiden just tried to interact with what appears to be a pre-recorded video at his fundraiser, asking the questioner, “you’re an ICU nurse, aren’t you?”
harkin (4cf812) — 6/23/2020 @ 5:00 pm_ _
This campaign tune is too good for JoeyBee- but it fits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S74n2YF7WOI
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/23/2020 @ 6:29 pmI don’t think attacking Biden’s mental and physical health is a winning campaign strategy. Yeah, he’s getting up there in years, but he’s not senile, yet. Like many of the elderly, he has his down days.
Biden is pretty much the same as he always was, gaffe-prone, saying stupid things, confusing the facts. He is not know for his political astuteness, which is why, even though he’s been in Washington for forty-odd years, as a Senator and Vice-President, he couldn’t win a primary in three previous runs for President, until this year. Fourth time’s the charm, I guess.
However, it’s smart for him to sort of stay out of the fray this election cycle. It is incorrect to say that he’s been “hiding in his basement” though. Biden has appeared at several events, given speeches, and attended fundraisers over the last few weeks. In fact, he just held a fundraiser with Obama the other day, his first with the former president, that raised over $4 million. His campaign has raised over $80 million in the last two months, mostly from small dollar donors.
That was Clinton’s mistake in the last election. She went after large dollar donors, didn’t attract small dollar donors, and didn’t even bother to campaign in certain critical states, because she thought she had them in the bag behind the blue wall. That’s why she lost the electoral college.
Trump actually outraised Clinton in small dollar donations. Yet now Biden is outraising Trump. That’s a significant shift.
What Biden is doing is coordinating virtually with his campaign staff and advisors from his home. The difference is that he actually listens to them and takes their advice. Trump does not.
This election will be unlike any other in recent memory. As the pandemic rages, the US has around 125,000 dead, far more than any other country, and that number is probably an underestimate. The rush to reopen has caused spikes in infections in multiple states, mainly in the south and west.
In fact, Texas just reported its highest number of confirmed infections, as did Florida, Arizona, California, and several others. You know why? Because the administration cut funding for testing and contact tracing.
See, Trump wants to cut down on testing, because the more tests you conduct, the more cases you find. Well, yeah, that’s the point of testing and contact tracing. You have to know how many people have been infected, who they came in contact with, so that you can identify how the virus is spreading, in order to control it’s outbreak.
Other countries have successfully done that, because they took a proactive response. The US, under Trump, did not. He will not listen to the experts, the epidemiologists, the virologists, health care professionals. He denies it all, because it makes him look bad. Yeah, it does.
People are dying by the hundreds a day, thousands a week. The economy is in ruin. The real estate market is dead. Businesses are closing, some never to reopen; unemployment is rising; property values are plummeting. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Schools are closed, sporting events, concerts, festivals are cancelled. Whenever there’s a large gathering, infections spread and spread.
And now the EU is thinking of banning travelers from the US? Well, yeah, those countries have the virus relatively under control, they’re not seeing spikes in infections and deaths, so why would they allow in tourists from the one country that has the highest? It’s a danger to their citizens.
Trump cannot grasp this reality. He lives in complete denial and thinks he can will away this pandemic by holding rallies. For what, the adulation of crowds? Soon to be infected crowds, that is.
Estimates are that the US could be seeing 200,000 deaths by October. And who knows how many millions infected? Right before the election in November.
Trump is playing this all wrong. He thinks it’s all about him, not the country or the American people, who are clearly distressed at this time. He offers no plan, no resolution to these crises–pandemic, economic, and foreign. All he’s capable of doing is making juvenile insults against his opponents, conjuring up conspiracy theories, engaging in harassment (sexual and otherwise), and blaming everyone else for his failures, including multiple lawsuits for racial discrimination at his inherited housing projects, bankrupting investors in his failed business ventures, and short-changing contractors, all while preferentially hiring Eastern Europeans on H2-B work visas and undocumented immigrants to service his hotels and golf courses, over American citizens.
And he’s still doing it today. Trump is a total fraud. He is the ugliest ugly American. Biden does not suffer from that caricature.
Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1) — 6/24/2020 @ 8:31 amFlorida Democrats gain vote-by-mail advantage
……
Five months before Election Day, more than 1.46 million Democrats have signed up to vote by mail compared to 1.16 million Republicans, according to an analysis of state Division of Election data released Friday. By comparison, in 2016, Democrats held an advantage of about 8,800 in vote-by-mail enrollment.
The reason for the success is twofold. Democrats have put heightened emphasis on getting more people to cast ballots from home, an effort that preceded the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. And Trump has demonized this type of voting so much that Republicans, who once dominated mail-in ballots, are souring on it.
…..
Juan Peñalosa, executive director for the Florida Democratic Party, called the vote-by-mail numbers “striking.” In a memo, he pointed out their importance in a state where elections often are won in the margins.
Peñalosa marveled at Trump’s “insane” success in dampening GOP enthusiasm for mail-in voting because it has worked so well for Florida Republicans.
RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 6/24/2020 @ 11:14 am…..
Any registered voter in Florida can request a mail-in ballot up until 10 days before an election, a policy put in place nearly 20 years ago in the wake of the chaotic 2000 presidential recount.
……
Trump has increasingly railed against vote-by-mail, calling it rife with fraud. But while voter fraud does occur, it is exceedingly rare and has never been shown to be so big as to sway a statewide or nationwide election.
…..
In Florida, the number of Republicans signed up to cast vote-by-mail ballots has declined by 186,000 since 2018, while Democrats have increased their numbers by 69,000, according to the latest state data.
……
Trump is a total fraud. He is the ugliest ugly American.
He is a capitalist.
Biden does not suffer from that caricature.
He is far, far worse: a 47 year Washington, DC politician.
And a plagiarist.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/24/2020 @ 11:50 am