LOS ANGELES.–Former President Barack Obama chief strategist David Axelrod, 69, criticized 81-year-old President Joe Biden for snapping a CNN reporter M.J. Lee for asking Biden about Special Counsel Robert Ur’s report saying he would not pursue charges against Biden for improperly retaining classified documents at his private residence and two other locations. But the documents question was secondary to Ur revealing that during his interview with Biden he could not recall when he was Vice President or when his oldest son, Beau, died of brain cancer. Recent polls have shown that Democrats, Republicans and independents don’t think Biden is fit to go another four years as president, prompting questions about his fitness for duty. Ur’s report corroborates ongoing concerns, both political and factual, about Biden’s cognitive challenges as he seeks a second term.
Former President Donald Trump warned in 2020 that Biden that he had cognitive challenges that would create problems in the White House. Over three years into his first term, Biden has the U.S. fighting a proxy war in Ukraine against the Kremlin, multiple attacks against the U.S. in the Middle East and growing prospects of military confrontation with Communist China over Taiwan. Trump said yesterday at a hastily called press conference at Mar-a-Lago that Biden’s cognitive issues have left the U.S. in decline, with war the Ukraine and spiraling military problems in the Middle East. Biden reacted harshly when Lee asked him about the Special Counsel’s report showing that he’s had fuzzy thinking and memory challenges when answering question about his classified document problem. Biden bristled at Lee saying, “My memory is fine.”
Axelrod, who’s questioned Biden running for a second term, said his reaction to Lee was inappropriate, given all the questions raised by voters about Biden’s fitness for duty for a second term. Axelrod objected to Biden’s reaction saying, “was the way he reacted to [CNN reporter] MJ [Lee] when she asked a question, that was completely legitimate, which is what are going to do about the fact that so many people have this question, and he snapped at her,” Axelrod said. Axelrod serves as a regular CNN contributor, usually only giving partisan analysis, often pushing back at Republican talking points. “Donald Trump is a gaffe-prone machine himself, but because he is energetic these question are not as profound for him,” Axelrod said, walking on egg shells, knowing he CNN position could be jeopardized. Whatever Trump’s gaffes, they pale in comparison to the cognitive slips made by Biden.
Axelrod didn’t mention Trump’s spontaneous press conference yesterday at Mar-a-Lago demonstrating complete mastery of U.S. foreign policy, showing how things have dramatically deteriorated under Biden. No, Axelrod needed to protect himself by criticizing Trump, even though there’s no comparison with his lucidity compared to Biden. Most analysts marvel at Trump resiliency facing multiple trials and 91 felonies while, simultaneously, running for president. Trump sometimes mixes up names, like he did recently when he referred to former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley when her really mean former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). But whatever the concerns about Biden, Axelrod walks a tightrope adhering to his CNN Democrat bias, knowing the network serves as a mouthpiece for the Democrat Party, especially during an Election Year.
Biden’s White House handlers fear every time he steps in front of cameras for an unscripted event, not knowing what to expect. Yesterday’s hostile reaction of CJ Lee reflects Biden’s insecurity about his cognitive issues that have followed him for the last three years, if not longer. Saying he’s “the most qualified person in the country to be President of the United States” is an outrageous boast by Biden, knowing what recent polls have shown about his fitness for a second term. “It is the opinion of a lot of Americans who only see you in from of a camera,” Axelrod said of Biden, expecting the White House to accept his analysis. “They don’t see you in the situation room. They don’t see you in these closed-door meetings. And they are drawing conclusions from what they see,” Axelrod said, explaining the obvious but infuriating Biden’s White House handlers, especially Joe’s wife, Jill.
White House handlers don’t want Axelrod’s opinions about handling the president during an Election Year or any other time. Voters will have to decide whether they believe it’s in the country’s best interest to give an 82-year-old Biden four more years. Whatever Axelrod said about Trump, he knows that Trump’s appeal is more than just raw energy but his mastery of the economy and foreign policy. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago presser yesterday lets voters know that he’s more than up to the task of president, whether on the economy or foreign policy. Axelord, as Obama’s former PR man, said Biden has management problem. “They need to figure out how to use him, when to use,” Axelrod said. “But it’s a big problem,” suggesting that Biden presents a minefield to his own campaign. CNN and other liberal news sites won’t take kindly to Axelord’s more nonpartisan analysis.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
