How bad is Joe Biden?
When even former Obama aides have to admit that there are issues, you know there’s a problem.
Former aides who worked directly with then-Vice President Joe Biden in the Obama administration said fears about his age are “a very real issue.”
“If you watch Joe Biden speak, oftentimes he sounds frail and he sounds more frail than he used to, even in 2019 and 2020,” Jon Favreau, the chief speechwriter for Obama when Biden was vice president, said in a recent episode of the “Pod Save America” podcast.
“The voice sounds frail, and he shuffles more because of the arthritis in his back,” Favreau said, adding that the oldest-ever president also appears “mumbly.”
He noted polls showing as many as 80% of Americans have expressed concern about the president being 81 — saying it needs to be tackled head-on because voters can see his clear decline.
Favreau tried to give a little spin by arguing that sounding frail and mumbly wasn’t necessarily an indication of Biden’s mental state. He suggested that the campaign deal with the issue head-on, but acknowledged that Biden doing appearances would make things even worse.
Former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett agreed.
I’m sure that going out there means more missteps … more gaffes that start circulating, but if you don’t view Biden being out there as a net positive, then the argument he shouldn’t be running is right.