Joe Biden has been spending a fair amount of time both trying to reach out to black voters as well as campaigning in Pennsylvania. He combined both efforts during a visit to a black church in Philadelphia on Sunday in the middle of the massive controversy over whether he should continue his candidacy despite his obvious cognitive issues. 

Biden went to the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia. 

Now you would think, given that he grew up in a black church, he would have looked at home. But he not only seemed incredibly awkward there, he looked horrible and about a billion years old. He had that thousand-yard empty-eyed stare at various points throughout the visit. 

His eyes are really frightening to me here. 

DAZED AND CONFUSED: The Joe Biden Story pic.twitter.com/FVoQLcjl8i

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

Then, while he's supposed to be listening to the pastor and paying attention, he pulls out his binder of notes, and you can see him studying them and how comprehensive they are with what looks like the pictures of the people he's probably supposed to meet in there. 

Crooked Joe has pre-written scripts in his binder AND his jacket pocket — impressive! pic.twitter.com/OvNEwZBdwd

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

He also pulled out notes from his jacket pocket to look at those. 

Then Bishop J. Louis Felton spoke a little about Biden, and I don't think it helped. 

From the pulpit of the church Biden is attending: "I don't know why it is that you want to make an issue of the president and his condition with stammering and not being able, at certain times, to bring forth words..."

(Because it isn't "stammering" — it's cognitive decline) pic.twitter.com/j67ZkWBD8z

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

"I don't know why it is that you want to make an issue of the president and his condition with stammering and not being able, at certain times, to bring forth words when another person lies fluently and you never challenge his lies," Felton said.

When you're having to justify why the alleged leader of the free world can't "bring forth words," it's not exactly a good look. Being able to "bring forth words" is sort of a prerequisite of the job. It's not stammering, it's coherence and competence, critically important things for the job. Plus, let's be real here, Biden lies his head off constantly, so why do his supporters pretend like he doesn't or act like it's somehow justifiable? 

But Felton wasn't done there. He spoke about a bumper sticker on a senior citizen's car that said, "I may be slow, but I'm in front of you." Then he said, "Use his handicaps..." 

OMG this is really sad.

Biden heads over to the Black church and the pastor prays that God will use Biden's handicaps.🤣 pic.twitter.com/f31h9dCBKU

— MAZE (@mazemoore) July 7, 2024

My gosh, did he really say that? I mean, we all can use prayer, and likely Joe needs a lot for all the things he's done, but talk about being brutally honest there. 

It didn't start well. 

BIDEN: "I wanna thank, uhh, thank you uh, for uh, you know, I said, bishop, it's good to be home" pic.twitter.com/PxzDW0u4nC

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

When Joe speaks to a black audience, you know there will be certain stories he'll pull out. He used a couple of them here, resurrecting how he used to go to the black church after he went to his Catholic Church and how he was working for civil rights, which even he has debunked in the past. 

Biden once again falsely claims he'd go to a black church in Delaware during the civil rights movement to make "plans for what we're gonna do to change the situation" pic.twitter.com/doBWcfOcjE

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

He claimed he worked as a "public defender in the civil rights movement." Huh? He said he'd then go out to the local AME church to make "plans for what we're gonna do to change the situation." 

Then his looks at the end of the service were again scary and empty. It looked like he didn't know he was supposed to stand when it was announced, "Let us stand." 

PASTOR: "Let us stand together!"

BIDEN: *nervously glances at handlers* pic.twitter.com/twC5FsmpxK

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

Lights on, nobody's home pic.twitter.com/xZkTLSc1Cm

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

Naturally, he had the obligatory confusion trying to leave the stage again. 

Biden, wrapping up his pandering visit to a Philadelphia church, predictably gets lost as he shuffles out the door pic.twitter.com/clNq6PzfXy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 7, 2024

If his team believes this is helping him, I think they're sadly mistaken. It's just going to drive up former President Donald Trump's numbers even more and heighten the calls for Joe to step aside.