Tom Minear: Joe Biden fails big time in bid to calm Democrats
Embattled US President Joe Biden was supposed to use a TV interview to reassure those worried about his age. Tom Minear argues it will have the opposite effect.
Opinion
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Analysis: It took Joe Biden eight days after his debate disaster to give an interview to reassure his panicked supporters. Given that was the purpose of it, the US President failed. Big time.
The 81-year-old – a famously proud and stubborn man – was completely dismissive of the concerns about his age and his flailing campaign to prevent Donald Trump’s return to power.
He refused to acknowledge he was more frail.
He rejected calls to take a cognitive exam. He questioned the reliability of poll after poll that shows he will lose. And when he was asked what he would do if his allies asked him to drop out, he said: “They’re not going to do that.”
The combined effect was surely the opposite of calming the Democratic Party.
And that is now their biggest challenge: how do they convince Biden to quit the election race when he is not convinced there is a problem?
Democrats want Biden to go because they want to win. They know one interview doesn’t make up for the damage caused by his debate performance – and they know it doesn’t mean the President won’t suffer similar disasters in the four months until the election.
Evidently, they do not believe Biden’s excuses for what happened on the stage against Trump, that he made a mistake or had a cold or was struggling with jet lag. They can see Biden is too old to serve another four years, and they know American voters can see it too.
Before the interview went to air, Democrats had wondered why Biden had not responded more swiftly and strongly with interviews, rallies and a no-holds-barred press conference.
There are two possible explanations. Either he did not think he needed to, or he simply was not capable of doing so. Neither of them are good.
Originally published as Tom Minear: Joe Biden fails big time in bid to calm Democrats
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