I’m a Republican, but I don’t care about Hunter Biden or his laptop or the fact that he was convicted on federal firearms charges. Never mind. His father, President Joe Biden, is bad enough.
Furthermore, it is Joe, not Hunter, who is running for president again. Republicans who are pinning their electoral hopes on Hunter’s conviction are misguided. Support the president. He is a disappointment all the same.
Does anyone care about Hunter Biden?
Don’t get me wrong. Hunter Biden has always been a laughing stock. Despite going to rehab, Hunter couldn’t get his relationships, finances, or bad habits under control. (We all have our flaws.) Despite all the power of nepotism, Hunter, an ugly Kennedy on his best day, couldn’t get away with gun charges. See? The system isn’t rigged. (I never thought it was.)
And the public doesn’t care: According to a new Emerson College poll, 64% of registered voters say the Hunter Biden trial will have no effect on how they vote in this presidential election, while only 24% say it will make them less likely to support President Biden.
Hunter Biden is as guilty as Trump.But the biggest threat to Joe Biden remains himself.
Of course, rumors continue to circulate about a world of unethical connections on Hunter Biden’s laptop linking his father to Ukraine and bribery, but we need not pin our hopes on Republicans tarnishing the presidency with those connections, since President Biden has been successful in making himself look like a fool.
In other words, a Hunter Biden conviction would not convince Republicans to vote against Joe Biden; Joe Biden would convince Republicans, and perhaps some Democrats, not to vote for him.
President Biden is an “old man with a bad memory”
In front of and behind the cameras, Biden seems mentally and physically unwell. Like a malfunctioning robot or a doomsday zombie, he can’t string together coherent sentences, he doesn’t seem to know where to stand or walk at a podium or in a crowd.
Biden’s cognitive decline seems undeniable, but the White House is doing everything it can to hide it from the public, which may be understandable from a political strategy point of view, but is unacceptable in the eyes of the American people.
A recent Wall Street Journal headline aptly put it, “Behind Closed Doors Biden Shows Signs of Decline.” It made me laugh. Behind closed doors? You mean in front of them, or maybe outside of them.
At a Juneteenth event at the White House on Monday, Biden appeared frozen during the concert while guests danced and sang around him. This is unusual and shows he is not processing the information well. During a speech about the holiday, Biden said, “She knew all along! She knew that our freedoms would not be protected forever.” Is this new language? Is it gibberish?
It’s normal for even seasoned speakers to stumble or slip up from time to time, but there are dozens of recorded instances of presidents appearing confused, stuttering, slurring entire sentences, or otherwise unsure of what they should be doing.
At last week’s Normandy Day ceremony, Biden was caught on camera fumbling for a seat while other dignitaries remained standing, and video showed first lady Jill Biden holding her hand over her mouth as if to tell him to stand.
In February, after a 15-month investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents, special counsel Robert Hur said he would not bring criminal charges against Biden because convictions would be difficult, even if Biden did not necessarily handle the documents improperly. Hur’s report described Biden as “an old man with good intentions but a fragile memory.”
When the report was released, Biden insisted his memory was fine.
The American people deserve transparency.
I don’t blame Biden. At 81, most people, if they’re still alive, start to decline. I’ll be lucky to still be able to string together a sentence at 81. But I’m not running for president.
Biden has served our country well. He’s done his job. But it’s over. The White House needs to hear this loud and clear.
I’m not criticizing Biden because, like most other seniors, he is slowly declining in old age.
I blame Biden and his administration for continuing to act as if nothing is wrong, when we know the opposite is happening right before our eyes.
Why do Republicans still support Trump?You can call Trump’s trial a sham while acknowledging that he was a terrible choice for the presidency. I agree.
Biden isn’t asking America to qualify him for a nice nursing home. He’s asking America to give him back access to the nuclear codes. He’s asking America to decide which of two incompetent men is the less incompetent. One is a liar and a cheat, the other is an incompetent and incoherent man. I wish neither were really an option (it is, but you get what I mean).
This may sound harsh, or unusually partisan, or even spiteful, but I have called Donald Trump out for other things too, including his childish rants, his arrogance, his narcissism, and for being a con man and vile bully, for which he has now been convicted.
It’s not mean to point out Biden’s obvious cognitive decline; it is mean to insist that he continue to appear strong and healthy when he is clearly struggling.
It is irresponsible for the White House to go through with this farce and act as if Biden is in perfect health when he clearly needs help walking and talking. It is not only disingenuous, but unethical and pathetic for the White House to continue to act as if Biden’s health is not seriously deteriorating.
After all, this is our election and our republic — and we hope we can keep it that way — and we have the right to have the most accurate information about each candidate all in front of us.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four children. Sign up for her newsletter, “The Right Track,” delivered to your inbox.
