Joe Biden's re-election effort is in turmoil thanks to one of the most impactful debate performances in American history. After years of a compliant press covering up his ongoing mental and physical decline, the facade was doused in gasoline and set on fire.
More importantly, the undeniable proof that the president is senile didn't come from some anonymous report. Instead, it came directly from Biden in just under two hours of being on stage. For the first time, the administration was faced with a hostile press that desperately needed to save face, and the results have been explosive.
An avalanche of reports about Biden's ailing condition has followed, and the White House can't plug the cracks in the dam any longer. They have been so used to telling the press how high to jump and having their orders dutifully followed that when faced with hostility, they don't know how to respond. That's led to a series of incredibly stupid and anger-fueled decisions from Biden's handlers. Instead of accepting their position and attempting to work around it, they've decided to floor it into the oncoming brick wall.
On Thursday evening, the president will take to the podium to hold a "big boy press conference," and the gloves will be off. His sink-or-swim moment has arrived, and the stakes couldn't be higher
A true Washington psychodrama will unfold today a mile from the White House, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
- A red-hot press corps — which feels ignored, used and deceived — will get its first true unfiltered crack at grilling President Biden, the most media-sheltered president of modern times. "The dogs are loose," a Biden adviser told us.
- Biden, bitter over media coverage of his age and acuity, gets his shot at redemption — a chance to show the press and public he can think fast, handle the heat, and spar and speak improvisationally without glitching.
This is it. Biden likely won't get another chance to assuage concerns and begin his comeback. The next debate isn't until September, and who knows if he'll even be the nominee by then if things keep snowballing as they have. The president has to not only avoid his consistent verbal fumbles at this presser, whether that be slurring, mixing up of words, or general incoherence, but he has to physically appear strong as well. If he shuffles into the room, armings rigid, as he's done for so long, it will only exacerbate the calls for him to step aside. As the above excerpt says, "The dogs are loose."
Furthermore, the presser can't be short. If it only lasts half an hour, it will provide more evidence that Biden simply doesn't have the stamina to perform the basic duties of the office. Lastly, the president can't walk out with a cheat sheet of reporters to call on, which has been the normal routine for him. If anything appears scripted, blood will be in the water.
Of course, there's one problem with the White House's plan for redemption: Joe Biden.
If Biden were capable of appearing and sounding strong and resolute, he'd have been doing so at every public appearance for the last few years. That he hasn't isn't because of some failure of strategy. It's because he can't. You can hide a lot of things in politics, but you can't hide someone's physical and mental condition. No amount of briefings or talking points will cause a senile person to no longer be senile.
The other concern Biden's handlers are no doubt acutely aware of is the president's penchant for anger. Members of the press are going to be combative at this presser because they feel the need to get Biden out of the race sooner rather than later (everything always comes back to helping Democrats). Any slight will set the president off, and you can bet there will be some slights coming.
Maybe Biden surprises us all and calmly answers questions with some semblance of sentience, resetting his campaign to some degree. If he doesn't perform, though, his presidency is over. That's how important this presser is and how tight of a corner the White House has painted itself into.
