Joe Biden wants to save democracy from Donald Trump. But more and more Americans are asking themselves: isn’t the incumbent US president himself bringing about the catastrophe?
If everything had gone according to plan, Joe Biden would now be doing his well-deserved victory lap here in North Carolina. It is the day after the televised debate with Donald Trump, during which Biden stared into space with his mouth open in front of millions of viewers, and here in Raleigh the 81-year-old admits to viewers what the nation has long known: He has failed.
“Guys, I don’t walk as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” says Biden, whose voice sounds stronger than the day before. “When you get knocked down, you get back up.” It is a desperate attempt to make the best of the debacle. Because there is hardly anything America loves more than a fallen hero who fights back. Almost four years ago, one can put it so pathetically, Biden saved liberal America and maybe even the world a little. But in this election year, he is behind in most polls, nationwide and in the crucial swing states. It has been that way for months – despite all the scandals that accompany Trump, despite his conviction in New York. The televised debate was supposed to start Joe Biden’s comeback. But now 72 percent of Americans say Biden lacks the mental and cognitive abilities to remain president. 73 percent of his own supporters have long considered his advanced age to be a problem. Only 25 percent of all Americans believe that the country is on the right track under President Biden.
But the party leaders have rigorously prevented any discussion of Biden’s candidacy – because only he can beat Trump. They have even spoken of age discrimination, as if age and vitality should not be a criterion in the election of the most powerful person in the world.
This is the real tragedy, and not just for America: the man who wants to avert the catastrophe of a second Donald Trump presidency is himself inviting it. The man who found the strength to survive so many personal tragedies no longer has the stamina to avert the political tragedy.
