[eugyppius: a plague chronicle] For years, the establishment press have told us there is nothing at all wrong with Joe Biden, that he’s extremely sharp, even a wise statesmen, and that rumours of his senility are a malicious right-wing conspiracy theory.
On 2 February 2024, for example, Welt assured us that "No, Joe Biden is not senile":
Recently, Joe Biden gave a speech that even sceptics had to admit was pretty brilliant. He recalled that his predecessor in office, Donald Trump, called fallen US soldiers "suckers" and "losers" and refused to visit an American military cemetery in France: "How dare he," said Biden quietly ... "If I see one loser here, it's Donald Trump."
A memorable moment. But it was not Joe Biden's first outstanding speech: Who could forget how he reacted in Tel Aviv to the pogrom of 7 October 2023? "I come to Israel today with a single message," he said at the time. "You are not alone. You are not alone." Also unforgettable is the appeal Joe Biden made to Congress in February 2022 after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, murdering and raping people.
It must also be reported that Joe Biden is sporty: He has repeatedly been spotted cycling along the Potomac; he sometimes enters podiums with an athletic leap ... Yes, he is a sprightly old gentleman. Sometimes he’s slow; sometimes he shuffles a little as he walks. Now and again he is doddery. So what? He’s still in surprisingly good condition for an 81-year-old.
So why does the myth persist that Joe Biden is senile? In fact there is only one piece of evidence in favour of this this assumption: he mumbles. If you do some research on YouTube, however, you’ll realise that he has always mumbled. It’s not a state secret where the mumbling comes from - Joe Biden is a stutterer, and like most stutterers of his generation, he has learned to hide his speech impediment behind a hasty rush of words. That’s it. That’s all there is to the rumour about Biden’s senility.
It’s not difficult to find out who started the false report that Biden is senile and won't be around much longer: It’s radical right-wing propaganda ...
[B]ut why does German journalism cling so faithfully to the narrative of Joe Biden’s frailty? Is it anti-Americanism? Stupidity? Is the realisation that a competent and fairly wise old man sits in the White House unbearable? Or do the Germans not forgive the Americans for the fact that they are about to bring about an energy transition that - unlike the German stillbirth - threatens to be a huge success?
On 30 April 2024, Der Spiegel brought in an "expert" to explain that "If Joe Biden were senile, rivals would be lining up to challenge him": |