Biden’s disastrous Air Force Academy fall only makes US look weak to our enemies
It was a disastrous image for an 80-year-old president who has just announced his campaign for a second term.
Collapsed on the ground, unable to get up, sensible rubber soles on full display as Secret Service agents try to hoist him to his feet.
It’s not even shocking at this stage. It’s just sad. Sad for the country.
It adds to the perception of an enfeebled America, vulnerable to the predations of its enemies. Joe Biden falling of a bike. Joe Biden tripping up the stairs of Air Force One. Joe Biden getting lost on stage. Joe Biden losing his train of thought: “Well, anyway”.
Damage control was in full swing after the incident at a US Air Force Academy commencement in Colorado Thursday.
Biden was quick to blame a sandbag for tripping him up, although he’d been on the stage for 90 minutes without registering it was there.
On video it looked as if he was about to break into a little skip or jog before he fell.
That happens a lot when he tries to show how sprightly he is. Not a good idea.
When he arrived back at the White House on Marine One that evening, the press pool reported that “he bumped his head on the doorframe while exiting the helicopter.”
He forgot to salute the Marine at the bottom of the stairs, rubbed his head, walked across to the waiting media, and went to salute them before realizing what he was doing.
“I got sandbagged” he joked of the fall. Then he did a little skip.
Someone should tell him to stop the skipping and jogging. It does not convey the message he hopes. People just think it’s foolish to keep inviting disaster.
Falling over has defined Biden’s presidency.
As president-elect he was hobbling around in a moon boot after breaking his foot in a mysterious incident he blamed on his German Shepherd.
He limped through inauguration day, and at one point did a little jig, thankfully without incident.
Damage control from The New York Times Sunday came with four bylines, asserting how vigorous and “sharp as a tack” Biden is.
“Sharp and wise at critical moments, the product of decades of seasoning, able to rise to the occasion even in the dead of night to confront a dangerous world.”
He exhibits “striking stamina” and “often outlasts younger colleagues.” He “remains sharp and commanding in private meetings [and] his judgment is as good as ever.”
Which is not saying much, when you think about it.
Unlike his “obese” predecessor who sinfully ate hamburgers, Biden is “trim and fit.”
It’s doubtful that the Times’ glowing report will allay concerns of 70 percent of voters who say Biden is too old to be president.
But for those who are firmly convinced that an Obama will save the Democrats, there was this tidbit from the press pool Thursday: “President Biden and President Obama spoke this afternoon” – that is, after the fall.
The item was “passed along from the White House”, a strategic message to reassure Democrats that Obama is keeping a close eye on his former VP’s health.
