Biden's Cognitive Decline Raises Serious Questions About His Fitness for Office

President Biden's performance at the first presidential debate has sparked concerns about his cognitive fitness to serve as president. Critics argue that his confused statements, blank stares, and inaccurate claims suggest he is declining. These concerns have led to speculation that he may step down or be replaced as the Democratic nominee.

For weeks, rumors have circulated that the first presidential debate was scheduled earlier than usual to allow Democrats time to remove Joe Biden if he flopped. After the debate, commentators on CNN expressed similar concerns, with some suggesting that Biden appeared incapable of serving for four more years.

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times called for Biden to withdraw from the race, citing his debate performance. Kristof wrote, "But I hope he reviews his debate performance Thursday evening and withdraws from the race, throwing the choice of a Democratic nominee to the convention in August."

Biden's Cognitive Decline Raises Serious Questions About His Fitness for Office

Betting odds also shifted significantly during the debate, with Donald Trump's chance of winning rising by over 10%. Before the debate, Biden had an 86% chance of winning the nomination, but that plummeted to 38%.

Biden's debate performance was marked by confusion, garbled statements, and inaccurate claims. He seemed to forget there was no live audience, waved at the empty air, and struggled to make coherent arguments. Even Trump expressed confusion about Biden's statements.

Biden's Cognitive Decline Raises Serious Questions About His Fitness for Office

Despite having reportedly prepared for the debate, Biden's cognitive decline was evident. He frequently retreated to dishonest claims about Trump, including inaccurate statements about the economy, tax cuts, and immigration.

Biden's record on the economy is particularly weak. He falsely claimed that Trump left behind an economy in "free fall," when in fact it was recovering rapidly. He blamed Trump's tax cuts for inflation, an absurd claim.

Biden's Cognitive Decline Raises Serious Questions About His Fitness for Office

Biden also made false statements about immigration, claiming that the border patrol endorsed him, which they denied. He incorrectly stated that Trump wanted to cut the number of cops, and repeated his debunked claim that Trump said there were "very good people on both sides" of the Charlottesville protests.

Against expectations, Trump performed better than Biden, criticizing the president on the border, Afghanistan, and the economy. However, he missed opportunities to attack Biden on excessive spending, Ukraine, kowtowing to progressives, and student debt.

Biden's Cognitive Decline Raises Serious Questions About His Fitness for Office

Trump also made inaccurate claims, including that more people died from the pandemic under Biden than under himself, even though the vaccine became available under Biden. He accused Biden of undermining Social Security and Medicare by granting benefits to illegal immigrants.

Despite some smart plays by Trump and fair moderation by CNN, Biden's cognitive decline overshadowed the debate. The result has been widespread concern about his fitness for office and speculation about his future as the Democratic nominee.

Biden's Cognitive Decline Raises Serious Questions About His Fitness for Office