These latest attacks on Joe Biden are just ridiculous
It should be no surprise to anyone by now that the Republican strategy of attack is hypocrisy-fuelled projection. After all, theirs is the party that tried to steal the election by insisting that Democrats stole the election. They roll out congressional investigations one after another trying to prove that Democrats weaponised government — without a shred of evidence to support that charge. They declaim President Joe Biden as the “most corrupt president in American history” in defence of a twice-impeached, four times indicted rapist.
In keeping with this strategy they’re now saying Joe Biden is too old to lead the country. Have they taken a look at Trump, listened to Trump or checked Trump’s age on Wikipedia recently? President Biden is only three years and six months older than Donald Trump. And he’s doing something already that Trump never did when he was much younger. He’s effectively and successfully and competently running the country.
Joe Biden signed into law the Infrastructure and Jobs act in his first year in office. Infrastructure remained a running punchline throughout Trump’s benighted presidency. Trump walked out of a meeting designed to fix infrastructure because Nancy Pelosi hurt his feelings.
Of all the nations in the G7, Joe Biden has presided over the strongest post-pandemic economy. A pandemic, by the way, that Donald Trump turned into a unique American disaster through lies, incompetence and the promotion of pseudoscience.
Biden did something that Trump promised to do in “2 weeks” but never did. He lowered the cost of prescription drugs and capped insulin costs at $35 a month. Biden passed the Chips and Science Act to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors. He added thirteen million jobs to the economy. He passed the Inflation Reduction Act that included the most far-reaching climate action legislation in history. He passed the most significant gun safety law in decades, when everyone else was still offering thoughts and prayers.
He did all that and much more in just two years in office with a Democratic Congress the same size and composition as the current Republican Congress. (And just look at the ungodly horror of a mess they’re in.)
Can you imagine the disaster of having Donald Trump in charge of the ongoing twin nightmare conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine? This isn’t an age issue. It’s a sanity issue. Joe Biden is sane, Trump is not.
If Republicans want to make age an issue then they should take a long hard look at Donald Trump first. He’s calamitously overweight. His junk food diet would wreck the health of a teenager. His constant whining and complaining can’t be good for his health either. He has no plans for America, only complaints, threats and promises of vengeance. He’s a criminal who will be in prison soon. There is nothing to discuss between them.
What does Joe Biden do? He gets on with his job. He seldom has anything to say about Trump. When asked by reporters he’s dismissive, as he should be. Joe Biden has enormous responsibilities and he takes them with enormous seriousness. I go to sleep confident now that this troubled world is in competent hands and I wake up without worry. Such was not the case when the unpredictable narcissistic sociopath Donald Trump was in charge.
Do I wish Joe Biden was younger? Of course I do. We all wish we were all younger. But the wise among us take care of ourselves the way Biden does, not the way Trump does. Those of us who want to live long and productive lives eat right and exercise, like Biden. Those of us who don’t care about their health and mental acuity get no exercise and eat junk food, like Trump.
Biden and Trump have no say in how old they are. They have plenty of say in what they do with what they have. I respect the President’s choices. I do not respect Donald Trump’s choices. Trump is a fool, and we need to start dismissing him like the fool that he truly is. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.