The claim that Joe Biden, at age 80, has more energy than when he was in his mid-to-late 40s is not plausible.
From a CNN article about concerns about Joe Biden’s age:
Several prominent Democratic officials told CNN that they worry even so, every stumble now will be viewed through the prism of age. Biden’s advisers are keenly aware of what they view as a perception – or in some cases, in the words of one person close to Biden, “the bull— caricature” — that they say doesn’t match the reality they see.
They say he’s the one constantly adding to his schedule, pushing for photo lines with local politicians and extra time to greet crowds after his events, or making meetings run over by peppering policy aides with questions.
“The energy is higher now than maybe when I first met him, and I really believe that that’s inspired by the work,” said Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who as a Delaware Democrat has known and worked with Biden much of her life.
Oh, nonsense. Rochester began her career as an intern in the office of Delaware’s lone representative in Congress, Tom Carper, in 1988. She likely met Biden that year or shortly thereafter. The notion that Joe Biden, at age 80, has more energy now than when he was in his mid-to-late 40s is not plausible.
This is reminiscent of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s June 2022 claim that Biden has so much energy, she “can’t even keep up with him.” Jean-Pierre is in her mid-40s.
As Biden himself would say, come on, man! We’ve watched Joe Biden on television for decades. We can see how he walks and moves, and we can hear him when his voice trails off or his remarks meander. We know he spends almost every weekend at his one of his homes in Delaware, that he rarely does events at night or early in the morning, and rarely does more than one public event per day.
If Biden’s team wants to insist he’s in great shape for an octogenarian, they can attempt to make that case. The results of the president’s physical will likely offer some version of that assessment. (The fact that Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman’s primary-care physician said in a medical update in October that Fetterman “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office” will undermine public faith in doctor’s notes. Fetterman recently spent two days in the hospital after experiencing lightheadedness; the Times reported last week that the stroke “left him with a physical impairment and serious mental health challenges that have rendered the transition extraordinarily challenging.”)
But the fact that Biden’s allies feel the need to offer this supremely implausible assessment — that when the cameras are off and the public can’t see Biden, he’s just overflowing with energy, so much energy that people a generation younger can’t keep up with him — likely has the opposite effect. It makes us think that the truth must be much worse than it appears.
Remember, everyone around Dianne Feinstein acted like she was fine for years.
In other news, CNN’s Don Lemon declared that, “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, When a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s. . . . It depends. It’s just like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google when is a woman in her prime, it’ll say 20s, 30s, 40s.”