The pundit editorial class — as well as too many political reporters — focus on President Joe Biden’s age. What they don’t do is point out that Donald Trump is only 3.5 years younger.
Nor do the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or Washington Post — or any TV news show — ever feature a quote from a Trump campaign event that’s more than a few words.
That’s because after Trump strings words together, they look and sound like they were the output of a random number generator.
At a campaign rally in Claremont, New Hampshire, Saturday afternoon, Trump said that Barack Obama was president.
Not that cleanly, of course.
Here you go, from Mediate and Australian TV. Emphasis added. CNN used the one sentence.
You don’t mind if I go off teleprompter like a lot, do you? So much more exciting so much more.
So the head of Hungary. Very tough strong guy Victor Orban did anybody ever hear of him ever. Probably, you know, considered very powerful very powerful within his country and outside of his country, not exactly loved by some of the European nations, because he does his thing. He didn’t allow millions of people to invade his country, he allowed nobody to invade zero zero. He had nobody. So he doesn’t have crime and he doesn’t have the problems that they’re having in other countries where millions of people who are allowed to go in.
But they were interviewing him two weeks ago and they said what would you advise President Obama, the whole world seems to be exploding and imploding.
And he said, “It’s very simple. He should immediately resign and they should replace him with President Trump who kept the world safe, and I’m not just talking the United States. China respected him. Russia respected him. North Korea respected him.” And he used another word other than respect too he said fear but I don’t want to use that word, but of course it’s probably better than respect if you get right down to it…
We’re not respected anymore in the world they laugh at us, they think this guy, and again I would have never talked about him with this disrespect until they indicted me once they indicted me I said I mean it can’t happen and they indicted me for nothing they indicted me they indicted me for criticizing the election they indicted me for things and virtually every legal scholar you read says how can it happen?
But you know what the people get it and that’s why our poll numbers are high. I’m the only person in history that got indicted that saw about a 30% rise in my poll numbers. Usually you know we were doing fine before usually you get indicted you’re a politician you get indicted and about within 5 minutes you’re at a microphone. “I’ve decided I will go home to my family, and I will be with my family, and I will fight for my name and my reputation.” OK you know all that and that’s the end that’s the last time you ever hear from the poor person with me it’s like I said “how are we doing” I see your poll numbers went up 14 points today.
This isn’t the first time he’s mixed up Obama and Biden. And the comments about his “indictment” (there are 91)? Ummm, a fabrication.
In mid-October, on FOX, Trump insisted that “Obama is Biden’s boss.” Biden served as Obama’s vice president (2009-2017).
Donald Trump: Through, right? It’s all coming through Iran. And Obama wants to he doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t want to mention he doesn’t even mention them in his statements. It’s all coming through Iran.
Brian Kilmeade: Well, you mean President Biden. So but right now.
Donald Trump: I also mean Obama. What do you mean? You know Obama and Biden. But Obama is Biden’s boss. Guess you didn’t really know that.
Brian Kilmeade: Do you believe it? You believe President Obama.
Donald Trump: In the past? I don’t think I don’t think Biden knows what’s happening, to be honest with you. I think Obama is calling these shots and he’s always felt this way about Iran. There’s no question about that. No, I think Obama and Obama’s people certainly are calling the shots, not Biden.
Brian Kilmeade: So. So you do have a dispute, your gut tells you, but you don’t have any proof that President Obama is calling the shots.
Donald Trump: Oh, it’s my gut. But my guess I’ve been right about everything. So, you know, it’s good they have an expression out there. Trump’s been right about everything. You take a look at, go down the list. We’ve been right about everything.
Since we’re on the subject of cognitive health, on November 9 Trump claimed the population of North Korea is 1,400,000,000 during a campaign event in Hialeah, Florida.
Kim Jong Un leads 1.4 billion people and there’s no doubt about who the boss is, and [news media] want me to say, “He’s not an intelligent man.”
It’s China that has a population of 1.4 billion.
The population of North Korea is 25,970,000 (about 26 million). That’s less than California (39 million) and Texas (30 million). It’s only slightly more than Florida (23 million).
“Scary to think that, three years ago, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world… that he’s running for it again… and that he just mixed up China and North Korea,” said Scott Seymour.
Yes, scary. But the mainstream and political press have been focused on polls or, as Jay Rosen of NYU calls it, “odds.” He admonishes the press almost daily to report “not the odds, but the stakes.”
Paul Campos provides a clear-eyed observation about press fixation on Biden’s age and candidacy:
1) Biden and Trump are going to be the choice people face next November not because of a dereliction of our political elites, but because that’s what a democratic primary process in the two major parties is going to produce, by overwhelming consensus in both cases. The political elites would very much prefer otherwise.
(2) The “manifestly too old” thing about Biden is at this point just completely weird. Biden is barely older than Trump, and Trump seems vastly less coherent, even by his incredibly degraded standards.
Mauro Guillén, Vice Dean at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania criticized the pundit press age fixation thusly:
[T]he debate over age in this electoral cycle is too simplistic. While asking questions about a presidential candidate’s age, health, and cognitive readiness is perfectly legitimate and rational, the current debate seems to forget some fundamental aspects of demography, life expectancy, and intergenerational collaboration.
Every Trump campaign event provides material that questions Trump’s “cognitive readiness.”
I concur with Scott Lemieux 100%:
Let’s stipulate that, in an ideal world, it would be better to have a presidential nominee who was younger than 75. It should also be clear that given the actual alternatives in the 2024 election Biden’s age should be absolutely, 100% immaterial.
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Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com