Overreacting to CBS reporter Errol Barnett’s question about taking a cognitive test, 77-year-old Democrat presumptive nominee former Vice President Joe Biden bristled at the suggestion. Since 74-year-old President Trump took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment last month, a version of the standard Mini Mental State Exam, a preliminary screening for dementia, he’s been needling Biden to take the test. Trump said there’s no way Joe could complete the exam, something Trump said he aced. Speaking at a virtual conference with Black and Latino journalists, Biden bristled at Barnett’s question of whether he had ever taken a cognitive test. “No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test? Biden reacted. “C’mon man,” Biden rebuked Barnett. “That’s like saying, “You—before you got on this program you took as test where you’re taking cocaine or not, what do you do you thin? Huh? Are you a junkie?”
Biden’s reaction was over-the-top to a simple question whether a man approaching his 78th birthday or someone who’s lived through two brain aneurysms in 1988 should be questioned. Barnett was slammed by Biden, showing that 77-year-old former VP started talking about the reporter taking a test for cocaine addiction. Trying to mend fences with Joe, Barnett asked him what he would say to Trump, “who brags about his test and makes your mental state an issue for voters? “Well, if he can’t figure out the difference between and elephant and a lion, I don’t know what the he’s talking about,” Biden said, laughing. Barnett didn’t know that he’d open up a can of worms, even though he’s on Biden’s said. “Look, c’mon man, I know you’re trying to goad me, but I’m so . . . looking [forward] to have an opportunity to sit or stand with the president on the debates,” Biden said.
Joe’s been making a series of gaffes that go beyond typical mistakes seen by someone Joe’s age. When Joe forgets what he’s talking about or where he is, or gets feisty because he feels challenged he gets testy, just like he did with Barnett. Barnett tried to undo Biden’s reaction, immediately giving him a chance to attack Trump. But there’s no question that Joe makes things up about his past civil rights record both in the U.S. and abroad. He told reporters recently he was arrested trying to visit Nelson Mandela in South Africa, while visiting with former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young. Young confirmed that Joe was never arrested in South Africa trying to visit Mandella, because Nelson was imprisoned in Robben Island at the time, inaccessible to journalists or politicians. Biden claimed “as a kid” he was involved in desegregating lunch-counters and movie theaters in Wilmington, Delaware.
Democrats and the media promote Biden but completely ignore the very real possibility that he suffers from cognitive decline. It’s difficult to make the same argument about Trump when he faces a hostile press almost daily, not shying away from confrontations with the media. When you consider he survived, as Trump likes to say, three-and-half-years of the “Russian hoax,” a 22-month, $40 million Special Counsel investigation, a questionable impeachment trial ending in acquittal Feb. 5 and daily fake stories that he won’t leave the White House if defeated, it’s no wonder that Trump’s primed for any contingency. Biden, on the other hand, hasn’t been challenged by the press, deciding long ago to push his candidacy, despite his cognitive lapses and outright fabrications. Biden insists he’s been, like the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights pioneer, all complete nonsense.
Where’s the media scrutiny over Biden’s work on behalf of his 50-year-old Hunter, who he helped land him an $83,000 a month job in Ukraine on corrupt Burisma Energy’s board. No one in the media thinks it’s fair game to go after Biden’s shady business dealing in Ukraine and China, where Hunter, once again, walked away with $1.5 billion for a U.S.-based investment fund. No, the media’s only focused on Trump’s alleged Russian ties or, almost daily, reports of mafia-like criminality at the Trump Organization, one of the world’s premier real estate development firms. All the media wants to talk about are Trump’s missing tax returns, his past bankruptcies and criminal dealings with Deutsche Bank. Just like Biden barked at CBS’s Barett over a simple question about a cognitive test, Joe barks at anyone that calls him out for anything he doesn’t want to answer.
Any voter that thinks a man approaching his 78th year hasn’t gone through some memory or cognitive impairments is kidding himself “I am very willing to let the American public judge my physical and mental fitness and to make a judgment about who I am and what state of affairs I have,” Biden. What Joe means by “what state of affairs I have” is anyone’s guess, another non sequitur that doesn’t make any sense. Biden’s handlers dismiss his all-to-frequent gaffes, chocking it up to his past stuttering or a lifetime of slips-of-the-tongue. At some point, voters will look carefully at Joe’s capacity to perform the daily duties related to president. Whether the media despises Trump or not, they can’t say he doesn’t spend most of his waking day working on behalf of the country. “All you have to do is watch me,” Biden said, welcoming the chance to make comparisons to Trump.
