The raging age debate that has swirled around President Biden ironically has been further compounded by Biden. It is nothing he did, said, or any action of his. It is the incessant focus by much of the media on a real or alleged Biden gaffe, a slip of the tongue, a mixed up of a date or a fact. Even worse, there is the continued lookout for a trip, stumble, or his seeming to have a problem walking. This is magnified, blown up, and relentlessly finger-pointed by many in the media.
A near textbook example of this was Biden's trip on stage while handing out diplomas at the Air Force Academy graduation in June 2023. That was the hot topic day long on nearly all the network channels at the time. It came complete with a generous rerun of the trip.
A partly chagrined, partly amused Biden had to quickly respond to the standard inference that the trip was due to age, "I got sandbagged," he said. He meant that literally. There were two sandbags placed inconspicuously on the stage, and Biden stumbled against them. A White House spokesperson quickly assured, "he's fine." That assurance was far from convincing to a legion of nervous Democrats.
No matter how much energy and vigor Biden displays in public appearances, it does not cancel out the gaffe or stumble that Biden foes, and much of the media are obsessed with harping on. In September 2023, a Forbes Magazine report was by now typical. It meticulously itemized for that month alone Biden's missteps in some cases literally. The magazine listed these fumbles:
*Biden slipped as he deboarded Air Force One on a jaunt to Michigan
*Biden's staff revealed that it was taking measures to prevent his tripping and even falling.
*Biden now wore tennis shoes and had been working with a physical therapist for over two years to better control his balance.
*Biden had a memory lapse during an address about where he was during the 9/11 terror attack
*Biden joked at a press conference during a visit to Hanoi that he was going to bed. He made the joke after he gave a convoluted, jumbled answer to a press question.
*Biden walked out of the East Room of the White House during a ceremony to honor a Vietnam war veteran. A White House spokesperson when questioned about it said that he left to limit his possible exposure to COVID.
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