New videos are currently circulating in which the American president appears confused and weak. But it later emerged that some clips were manipulated by Republican campaign strategists to damage Joe Biden’s image. But also serious American media reports about the Democratic candidate’s intellectual degradation is causing an uproar. However, it also says: Donald Trump I have also deteriorated mentally in recent years. He turned 78 on Friday.
Joe Biden: Crucial scenes were cut
In a 12-second video of the D-Day celebrations on June 6 in the French Normandy is shown to Biden as if he wants to sit on a chair that doesn’t exist. The clip ends abruptly with Biden in an odd body position. Trump immediately reported how “shameful and weak” Biden was again representing the US here. But later it became clear: the place where Biden ultimately sat was left out. The full shot shows him, like the others present, pausing for politeness as he takes his seat just as the name of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is announced.
Another video is circulating from the same event in which the US president appears to be led away by his wife before the ceremony is over. While his French colleague Emmanuel Macron is still talking to veterans, Biden can be seen leaving the stage together with the First Lady. “She should take him away,” Republican users on social networks scoffed, criticizing how disrespectful it was that Biden did not even acknowledge the soldiers. In fact, Biden had already appeared before Macron and had already greeted the veterans with a handshake before he was expected at another commemoration ceremony immediately afterwards.
Trump campaign or is Biden really senile?
“Republicans have no choice but to miserably distort and manipulate images of President Biden because they cannot successfully attack his achievements for the American people,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said in the Washington Post. Her counterpart Karoline Leavitt of Trump’s team responded: “It’s typical of the Washington Post to blame Republicans for Joe Biden’s apparent mental decline when it’s plain for all the world to see in the video.”
Republican social media users are spreading more clips of Biden appearing to sleep during D-Day celebrations. Democrats say: he only closed his eyes briefly to focus on the English translation, which he received via headphones. In return, Biden’s supporters are enjoying media reports that Trump frequently nodded off during his recent trial in Manhattan — as well as the persistent rumors about the former president’s supposedly strong body odor.
But a report in the reputable ‘Wall Street Journal’ about Biden’s mental fitness is making many Democrats sit up and take notice. “Behind Closed Doors: Signs of Biden’s Mental Decline,” reads the alarming headline. For the article, 45 insiders were interviewed over several months. Republicans in particular, but also Democrats, who wished to remain anonymous, are said to have confided to the conservative newspaper what everyone in Washington supposedly knows: that Biden has aged considerably mentally in recent years.
Even small meetings can only be held with the help of notepads, confidantes claim. He also mixes up important names, dates and events and sometimes speaks so softly that it is difficult to hear his voice. It is also reported: In short, Biden has slowed down significantly – he still has good moments, but also bad ones.
Trump has also made repeated mistakes
In May, Biden incorrectly referred to an American hostage in Gaza as a White House guest before correcting himself. He recently mixed up the names of two of his ministers. He also named both Helmut Kohl and France’s former president Francois Mitterrand as participants in G7 summits, even though both are long dead.
However, the same report also talks about Trump’s mistakes and mishaps: how he confused Republican Nikki Haley with former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden with Barack Obama – or how many times he seemed to fall asleep in court in the past month.
American voters will soon be able to form their own impression of the mental capabilities of both men: on June 27, the first televised duel between the oldest presidential candidates in American history will take place. The broadcast of the TV debate is live – and therefore unadulterated.