Americans are increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden’s mental state, and for good reason. It’s not just some mean right-wing trope. Biden routinely forgets the names of world leaders as well as officials in his own cabinet. He can just about get through a speech with a teleprompter, but anything off script leads to trouble.
This is embarrassing enough to watch when Biden is addressing domestic issues. When his fatuity plays out on the world stage, as it did on Tuesday, it can be downright horrifying.
The most powerful man in the world isn’t all there. Biden’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly suggested that he lives in an alternate reality.
He claimed to have restored relations with America’s allies just a few days after France recalled its US ambassador over a dispute about a submarine contract with Australia. He later rather undermined the rapport built up with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison by forgetting his name and calling him ‘that fellow down under’.
Biden’s usual pattern is that he can only handle one major public appearance each day before he needs to recover. Unfortunately, the mechanics of international relations demands more of world leaders. And Biden clearly can’t cope.
After his speech to the UNGA, he still had a bilateral meeting with Boris Johnson at the White House. As such, Biden’s staff made sure he was armed with a laminated notecard for the meeting, which contained commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’, and ‘roll over’.
Not really, but the notes snapped by an eagle-eyed press photographer did remind the President to welcome Johnson to the White House and speak positively about the relationship between the UK and the US.
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