If one is to judge by the fact he’s running for re-election, President Joe Biden plans to remain in the Oval Office until Jan. 20, 2029. That means he would have five more opportunities to give commencement addresses at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
That should be concerning, because he barely escaped the 2023 Academy graduation without serious injury.
As you may have heard, Biden took a nasty fall after delivering his commencement address and handing out diplomas at the school near Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday.
President Joe Biden falls at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony. pic.twitter.com/bpxXJPp7KF
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) June 1, 2023
The White House is saying the president was uninjured after the fall: “He’s fine. There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” Ben LaBolt, White House communications director, said on Twitter. Returning to the White House, the president joked to reporters that he had been “sandbagged.”
He’s fine. There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands. https://t.co/jP4sJiirHh
— Ben LaBolt (@WHCommsDir) June 1, 2023
“I got sandbagged!” @POTUS tells reporters who asked how he was feeling after his fall this afternoon when he returned to the White House. pic.twitter.com/msyX22MPiS
— Molly Nagle (@MollyNagle3) June 1, 2023
And, to the fourth-estate phalanx that protects the 80-year-old incumbent from any questions about his physical or mental deterioration, things were more than fine before that goshdarn bag of granular mineral particles got in his way.
The New York Times, ever ready to jump to the defense of a Democrat (provided the outlet isn’t impeding a more liberal Democrat in some way), described the commencement thusly: “Mr. Biden had just delivered an energetic speech to the Air Force graduates before helping to hand out the diplomas. He fell after he distributed the final diploma and was headed back to his seat.”
“Embarrassing moments are not uncommon for presidents, who spend much of their tenure in front of cameras. President Gerald Ford was repeatedly roasted by comedians for frequently tripping during his presidency,” Gotham’s paper of record dutifully explained before transitioning to a “But Trump!” moment: “President Donald J. Trump, a day before his 74th birthday in 2020, appeared slow and unsteady as he walked down a ramp from the stage after the West Point commencement ceremony, prompting online speculation about his health.”
And there was even a “Republicans pounce!” moment: “Republicans have seized on the president’s stumbles as evidence that he is unfit for office, and some were quick to point out Mr. Biden’s fall on Thursday,” the Times reported.
Actually, those darned “seizing” Republicans probably should have noted the more concerning moments that came before the fall, which did not speak to the kind of “energetic” performance the Times was advertising.
For instance, here’s the president being led around like a confused, dim cocker spaniel trying to be told where to sit in order to get a treat:
It’s not time to sit down yet, Joe pic.twitter.com/s7uVkvAj7W
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2023
Well, at least that was an aberrant moment from an otherwise … oh wait, of course it wasn’t:
Biden needs directions to find the stage — then again when he’s on the stage pic.twitter.com/ItRXow6dt0
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2023
At least the speech itself went off without a hitch. I mean, aside from the hitches:
BIDEN: “By the way, I met with, uh, who are those guys that fly over shortly? You’ve heard of ’em, haven’t you? Three of them are women, so don’t screw around, guys.” pic.twitter.com/95j3oyDgyB
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2023
Biden tells Air Force graduates he applied to the Naval Academy after graduating high school.
Last year, he told Naval Academy graduates he was “appointed to the [Naval] Academy in 1965.”
There is no record of either of those things ever happening. pic.twitter.com/4PaQuGMNvW
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2023
Biden tells Air Force Academy graduates that the Quad — an organization between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States — “didn’t exist before” he took office.
That’s a LIE — again. The Quad was re-established in 2017 under President Trump. pic.twitter.com/5VvtASCj1N
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 1, 2023
Energetic!
Do not disbelieve your lying eyes: Joe Biden is visibly in a steady, inexorable, slowly incapacitating decline. He needs to be led around like a dog on a leash and barks about as coherently as one when his mouth is open — no matter how “energetic” the yapping may be.
Thank God the president is physically OK after his fall. Then, pray to God we get a president who is mentally OK after the 2024 election. Or else America is going to be stumbling right along with him for another long four years.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
