This is hard to watch:
REPORTER: “Any comment on the strikes in Yemen, Mr. President!?”
BIDEN (or whatever’s left of him): “I’ve spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I’m supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they’ll settle the strike.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 30, 2024
The Republican National Committee outfit that flagged this clip was actually generous in its transcription of the president’s remarks. They managed to divine a coherent sentence here, albeit one entirely unrelated to the subject about which he was asked. The effort their transcribers put into piecing together these three sentences from the garble that actually emerged from Joe Biden’s mouth is impressive.
The president’s continued deterioration is more than a curiosity. Those near him knew his absence of mind could affect his performance in the event of a crisis — and a crisis is now upon us.
Hurricane Helene cut a 600-mile swath of devastation across the American southeast. Communities from Florida’s A30 to the Smokey Mountains have been devastated. Thousands are without power and homeless. As of this writing, nearly 100 Americans were killed by the storm and the ensuing inland flooding.
The White House insists the president is on the case. “The White House says Biden was briefed Sunday night and made calls to state and local government officials in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina,” one report read. “The president is now directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess what it needs to send relief to isolated communities.” Biden plans to deliver public remarks surrounding his response to the disaster later today.
The stakes are high, and all eyes will be on the administration’s response to this disaster. The nimbleness of that response could weigh heavily on voters’ minds in impacted swing states like Georgia and North Carolina. Perhaps the president and his subordinates will earn high marks. But given Biden’s condition, that is a gamble.