February 10, 2024

"Mr. Biden’s voice has grown softer and raspier, his hair thinner and whiter. He is tall and trim but moves more tentatively..."

"... than he did as a candidate in 2019 and 2020, often holding his upper body stiff, adding to an impression of frailty.... Mr. Trump, by contrast, does not appear to be suffering the effects of time in such visible ways. Mr. Trump often dyes his hair and appears unnaturally tan. He is heavyset and tall, and he uses his physicality to project strength in front of crowds. When he takes the stage at rallies, he basks in adulation for several minutes, dancing to an opening song, and then holds forth in speeches replete with macho rhetoric and bombast that typically last well over an hour, a display of stamina. 'It is the perception of how you communicate,' said Carol Kinsey Goman, a speaker and coach on leadership presence. 'When Trump makes those kinds of faux pas, he just brushes it off, and people don’t say, "Oh, he’s aging." He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden, but because he does it with this bravado, it doesn’t seem like senility. It seems like passion.'"

From "Why the Age Issue Is Hurting Biden So Much More Than Trump/Both Donald J. Trump and President Biden are elderly men. But voters are much less likely to worry that Mr. Trump is too old to serve" (NYT).

58 comments:

Iman said...

“moves more tentatively…”

Having watched Biden walk to a waiting microphone, arms outstretched like Frank N. Stein, I’d have to say his walk is more deliberate… perhaps more in keeping with warning others about “fire…BAD!!!”

I lost any hope for the mook when he pulled his “der rot fuhrer” speech in September of 2022. GTFO, Joe!

Michael said...


Because Trump still appears vibrant while Biden is rapidly declining

Creola Soul said...

When a recent headline declared “Palestinian terrorist kills elderly Jewish man”, I was troubled to read that the “elderly” man was only 65! I’m 76 but, damn, I don’t feel elderly. I still work out and run, trying, as Clint Eastwood says, “to not let the old man in.” Happy Birthday Clint! He’s 93 today!

John henry said...

I've not heard anything about Brandon's hairplugs for quite a while.

Or about how he's had the top of his skull off twice.

Even he told us at the time that it caused him to lose a step or two

John Henry

Hari said...

"He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden. . .." Trump may make as many mistakes as Biden, but Trump allows himself about ten times as many opportunities to make mistakes.


There is difference between striking out 50 times 100 at bats and striking out 50 times in 500 at bats.

Wince said...

From the very people who didn’t see this in Biden all this time, now tell us they’ve seen this in Trump all along?

Tells me they’ve decided to jettison Biden, replace him with a younger candidate and believe they can attack Trump on the age issue. Just like they fatuously tried to flip the immigration issue on Trump.

Do they really believe “age” is now the transcendent issue of the day, replacing issues like immigration, which Trump was sagaciously miles ahead of in 2016?

Owen said...

Full emergency power. Damage control party, report to the bridge. Flood the forward magazine. All non-essential personnel to the boat deck. [Sound of klaxons]

Limited blogger said...

I love bombast!

robother said...

Common sense experience tells us that different people age differently. To deny that is unsurprising in blank slate progressives, but unfortunately for them dealing with aging relatives, co-workers and friends is a reality for most voters. Projecting Biden's decline over the next 5 years isn't hard, based on how he moved and talked just 4 years ago. And the recordings referred to in Hur's report which painfully demonstrated Biden's confused memories--even about when he was VP-- date back to 2017.

Old and slow said...

It isn't "an impression of frailty". It is an unmistakable sign of it. He's heading downhill faster and faster.

Skeptical Voter said...

Hari at 2:36 has a point. If you make a lot of decisions in rapid fire fashion, you can be forgiven the occasional slip. But the standard for Presidents should be batting 901--out of 1,000. If you only make a few decisions, then you better be batting 1,000.

I had a boss one time who had a great imagination--and spewed out possible solutions to a problem by the dozen. I admired his imagination. I detested his lack of ability to make a decision. He was only going to make one a year--at most--and agonized about that. Life was too short for that sort of slowness. Trump probably bats close to 900--maybe a bit less.

And Owen at 2;55 ah oo gah ah oo gah--followed in the submarine moves by Dive Dive Dive!
I will say that the SS Biden seems to be taking on water.

robother said...

Hari: "There is difference between striking out 50 times 100 at bats and striking out 50 times in 500 at bats."

Exactly. But as that famous progressive Barbie once remarked, "math is hard!"

loudogblog said...

"He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden, but because he does it with this bravado, it doesn’t seem like senility."

Trump is constantly out in public doing rallies and such. Biden is constantly avoiding doing public appearances and interviews.

I honestly can't see how Biden's people will allow him to do any debates with anyone. He's going to spend the campaign doing scripted speeches from a teleprompter. (And he's still going to make a lot of mistakes.)

Michelle said...

Trump presents as more vibrant and mentally capable. But even if he didn’t, Trump is basically one four-year term younger than Biden. We were willing to let Biden start a term at 78. Maybe we’ll let Trump start again at 78. That doesn’t mean we have to like the idea of anyone starting a term at 82.

jaydub said...

Whatever else he is, Trump is an energetic leader who relishes being in the public. Joe, on the other hand, is a hider who has to avoid the press and the public as much as he can get away with in order to hide his mental and physical deficiencies. Unfortunately for him, neither the country or the Dems can afford a hider anymore, particularly one who only works 3 days a week and calls a lid on his activities midafternoon on the days he does work. The people who are trying to prop him up in order to keep their own rice bowls filled are nothing but traitors to the republic.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

You can see the scars on the edge of his face where his facial skin has been stretched back... in an effort to make him appear younger than he is.

Craig Mc said...

Just wait for the NYT news room revolt, a la Senator Cotton.

Michael K said...

Trump is under enormous pressure from the Biden/Garland "Lawfare" but seems to be handling it well. Biden looks and sounds like he is 100 years old.

PJ said...

Back in 2012, the Dem incumbent’s biggest vulnerability was government-controlled healthcare (those were the days!) and the Reps did them the favor of running the candidate least able to exploit that vulnerability. A lot of Dems think history is repeating in that Trump is too old to exploit Biden’s age. It understandably frustrates them that voters won’t just count birthdays and close their lying eyes and ears.

n.n said...

NYT reliably publishes in color blocs.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Trump looks less old because he is less old.

Holy shit.

Big Mike said...

He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden, but because he does it with this bravado, it doesn’t seem like senility.

Anybody besides me notice that, to the New York Times, a "mistake" is something they disagree with, not necessarily something that is factually wrong.

rastajenk said...

Wince said...
Do they really believe “age” is now the transcendent issue of the day, replacing issues like immigration, which Trump was sagaciously miles ahead of in 2016?

So let it be written, so let it be done.

tim in vermont said...

Were there examples of Trump mixing up Egypt with Mexico while making up a false story with him as the hero, pissing off Egypt at the same time? I can’t think of one.

MayBee said...

It seems like it's been a long time since they told us it's a stutter. Are they not trying that anymore?

Aggie said...

@Hari said: "There is difference between striking out 50 times 100 at bats and striking out 50 times in 500 at bats."

The difference here is that Biden has a tendency to be hitting 'Lefty' standing on the third-base side of Home, if you know what I mean.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Bribe me! Biden in 2019 was much frailer than Biden in is 2018 prosecutor firing speech ("son of a bitch...". He's just a shadow now of 2018. A mild breeze could blow him over.

I'm 69. Just got finished of 2-1/2 hours of walking the dog, chainsawing stumps and running the compact tractor. Activity is the key to staying young.

Breezy said...

You’d think these outfits would have gotten the message from the Hur report - it’s time to get real.

Rabel said...

"He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden..."

Baldfaced lie. Often repeated here.

Mary Beth said...

Does Trump really make as many mistakes as Biden? Or are we counting the times he speaks metaphorically and people pretend he's not making sense?

effinayright said...

Owen said...
Full emergency power. Damage control party, report to the bridge. Flood the forward magazine. All non-essential personnel to the boat deck. [Sound of klaxons]
**********************

"Terrain! Terrain! Pull up!! PULL UP!"

Paul said...

I've watched Trumps interviews, and he does them often, he is still 100% sharp.

Biden is just... 50% gone. Just a puppet for whomever is really running this government.

Trump in 2024.. don't sit there this time and not vote.. ya hear?? Or you will get Biden all over again.

Quaestor said...

Owen writes, "Full emergency power."

Rusty Venture: Brock, lock in auxiliary power.

Brock Sampson: We don't have auxiliary power!

Quaestor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jamie said...

So it's all perception, huh? One appears frail, the other appears healthy? (But instead of "healthy" they say "macho," "bombastic," "a display of stamina"?)

Just perception.

Jamie said...

Hari, excellent point! I would also say that Trump's mistakes come amid a rapid-fire, energetic spiel, whereas Biden's come either during a teleprompter set piece or when he dares to go off book for a second.

Ambrose said...

The media water carriers are working overtime to salvage Biden's second term.

Quaestor said...

...Carol Kinsey Goman, a speaker and coach on leadership presence.

The rule at NYT is when in need of a source just find a warm body and gin up a business card with an appropriate job description to put in its hand. Who is this Carol Kinsey Goman, and what makes her a leadership expert? Nooyawk claims she's a speaker. Who does she speak to, a convention of fellow mountebanks? (Quaestor is also a speaker and many a time he's held the rapt attention of a bar full of drunks.) If Goman knows the secret of leadership, why isn't she a leader of something that hires spurious expertise for billions rather than leaving stacks of that business card at every Chinese restaurant between Essex Street and East Broadway?

Yancey Ward said...

Trump is too old, but he is 10 years younger physically and mentally than Joe Shit For Brains Biden.

JK Brown said...

Well, we all saw that Trump seemed to thrive in the presidency when others, such as Biden, get worn down by it.

Howard said...

The DNC MSM campaign is in full swing to replace Biden for someone who is more friendly with the Davos billionaires and preferably with Epstein Island Kompromat so control is absolute.

William said...

Have the Democrats--or for that matter the Republicans--not learned anything from the example of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That woman was a human dynamo compared to Joe Biden...Unlike Biden, Trump is not visibly too old, but let's see how it plays out in the next four plus years.....I'm the same age as Biden and have much better hair and energy. My work load is considerably slighter than even Biden's, but I still need frequent naps. Why either of these two old men want to submit themselves to such burdens at their age is puzzling....I think Trump is the better choice, but it doesn't speak well of either man's judgment that they both think they're indispensable. This is no country for old men, or, anyway, didn't used to be.

Jim at said...

Happy Birthday Clint! He’s 93 today!

Clint Eastwood's birthday is May 31. Has been for all 59 years of my life.

Jim at said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GingerBeer said...

What must it be like for someone like Biden to go bald 3 or more times in a lifetime?

Kevin said...

Shorter NYT: Biden makes Trump seem young.

Joe Smith said...

'He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden...'

This is not true at all...

Joe Smith said...

'...and preferably with Epstein Island Kompromat so control is absolute.'

This is progress.

You're admitting that democrat big-wigs are shtupping kids.

chuck said...

I'm 69

Sixty nine isn't old. But don't worry, you will get there soon enough.

Dude1394 said...

“ Rabel said...
"He makes at least as many mistakes as Joe Biden..."

Baldfaced lie. Often repeated here.”


Exactly. NYTimes show your work because that is some fake news.

effinayright said...

I'm waiting for the day, coming soon, when Biden steps up the podium and declares in that whispering, raspy voice:

"I see dead people."

Then to watch Frau Doktor Jill and Kakistocratic Karine hustle him off stage, PDQ, saying:

"Thank you everybody....."

tim in vermont said...

What's scary is that Kamala is not even a "useful idiot," she's a useless idiot. And that was Joe Biden's first and most important decision, and he screwed it up out of cravenness and narcissism for short-term political advantage.

Why do I say "narcissism"? Because he made the decision solely for personal political benefit, with no careful consideration of, or even any thought to, the best interests of the United States of America.

tim in vermont said...

To be fair, I know he was doing a bit, but he probably should not have said that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO if NATO didn't pay up. He is now the presumptive candidate, and he needs maybe get out of the comforting bubble of his rallies, and step up to the position that he now holds.

Curious George said...

I love Joe's little two step faux jog move. I wonder who told him to start doing that? Probably the same genius that put him on a bike. Neither can cover up the 1000 yard stare he demonstrates virtually every time he's on the stage. And it get worse when he's doing an actual presser. When the reports all start shouting there questions at once it's pathetic. Joe doesn't know what's going on, Jill doesn't care, and the rest of the progressive cabal is trying to figure out what to do.

Narayanan said...

Biden's confused memories--even about when he was VP-- date back to 2017.
=================
what would have been FJB response to who was President of the USA during 2009-2016?

Narayanan said...

Biden's confused memories--even about when he was VP-- date back to 2017.
=================
what would have been FJB response to who was President of the USA during 2009-2016?

cfkane1701 said...

Trump projects virility and is unapologetically masculine. Most Americans still value these traits.

Biden looks, acts, and talks like a frail old man. Americans have a soft spot for old men, but we don't think they should be in charge of the executive branch.

Tina Trent said...

Trump doesn't drink or smoke. Never has, as his older brother succumbed to addictions.

Hunter came from somewhere.