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Key points
- The allegation of a cover-up around Biden's decline doesn't make sense.
- We still have a long way to go in our society to understand and respect the aging process.
- Ironically, Biden's age and experience are what allowed him to step aside for a younger candidate.
There's been a lot of talk in the news the past few weeks about the current administration's efforts to cover up President Joe Biden's cognitive decline and keep it from the public eye. These charges are more likely political moves than serious concerns from those who lob them (maybe with the hope of discrediting his likely successor, Kamala Harris, or to distract from the Trump campaign as it restrategizes on the fly for a contender they didn't count on).
But is it a legitimate concern that maybe there was a cover-up of Biden's decline? Could the entire public have been fooled until the fateful debate performance on June 27, when it became apparent to all that President Biden was indeed beginning to show signs of cognitive difficulties? Does it make sense that there would have been an organized effort in play to shield the public from his cognitive decline? No, it doesn't, and here's why.
1. If Joe Biden's inner circle had intimate knowledge of his cognitive decline, they wouldn't have let him debate.
It's widely acknowledged that the debate on June 27 is when the public, including those who bring us the news, became aware of Biden's cognitive state. We could all see for ourselves the hesistancy, the confusion, and the difficulty Biden exhibited in that debate. These are all signs of aging that have been witnessed also in the 78-year-old Mr. Trump, who's had similar moments of trailing off mid-sentence, forgetting names of world leaders, or citing the wrong city name at rallies.
Since most of the public was unaware of just how weathered Biden had gotten recently, however, a real cover-up of his decline would have been consistent with a polite bowing out of the debate for any reason that made sense at the time. Instead, Biden was prepped for two weeks and then pushed out on stage.
2. Aging can manifest in fits and starts rather than in a smooth and constant decline.
Those of us who have watched a friend or family member age know that older people can seem fine one day and stumble the next. We know that aging can include steep drop-offs in which the person was capable of doing things one week that become elusive the next week.
When you don't see someone every day, let alone every week or month, the changes that take place in between can indeed appear shocking. The changes are exacerbated by lack of sleep, disruption of routine, and being overwhelmed by recent activity—all factors cited by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in the immediate aftermath of Biden's debate performance.
None of us sees Biden daily or weekly, and likely never in person. We might see him on TV every few months or so. And when someone is older, a lot can change in a few months. President Biden has in the past been an effective orator and debater, but now, apparently, is no longer.
3. Biden's age and wisdom are what enabled him to put country before self and step aside to make way for a younger, more vibrant candidate.
According to most news sources, it took real time, effort, and several brutally honest conversations for President Biden to accept that a path to election victory was becoming extremely unlikely. In the end, he did decide to step aside for a younger, more vibrant candidate. The decision itself, putting country before himself, is a mark of maturity, wisdom, and grace—things people may gain only with age, and not all of us at that.
