Joe Biden at a White House press conference, February 8, 2024 (Fox)
UPDATE 2023 GMT:
I joined Times Radio on Sunday morning to explain the 25th Amendment, setting out the process for replacement of the President in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation.
Could it be invoked for either Joe Biden or Donald Trump?
Listen to Discussion from 38:59
UPDATE 1049 GMT:
David Dunn joins Times Radio’s Alexis Conran to discover the political situation around Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and whether there should be an upper age limit for the office of US President.
Listen to Discussion from 27:04
More than 75% of the population in America don’t want the choice to be between Trump and Biden in November because both are regarded as flawed candidates for different reasons.
UPDATE, FEB 11:
I spoke further with BBC Radio Scotland on Saturday about malpractice, both by the Special Counsel and by media, in the portrayal of Joe Biden, classified documents, and “memory”.
Listen to Discussion from 11:36
I summarize the facts about the report, with its one paragraph out of 388 pages on Biden’s alleged “poor memory”. I analyze how most of the media, apparently failing to read the report, has run with that narrative.
The Special Counsel made a political intervention. The media is talking about the effect of that intervention, rather than about the substance of the report.
The media has been led by the intervention and, of course, by the Trump camp to go on and on about Biden’s supposed mental incapacity — while paying no attention to the repeated, frequent lapses of Donald Trump.
I juxtapose that with the context of Biden’s background, his record as President, and his forceful reply in his press conference after the report’s release.
UPDATE, FEB 10:
EA’s David Dunn takes apart the attempt of hard-right UK outlet GB News to tear down Joe Biden, skilfully focusing the discussion on the danger of Donald Trump.
Unhinged is a much worse situation than having a few confusions over the names of world leaders.
In terms of their capacity to be President, most people would say the greater risk is the election of Donald Trump.
The analysis is so effective that a rattled GB News labelled Dunn as a “Woke Professor” in its YouTube video.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: I joined Irish and British outlets on Friday to analyze the serious failures by both Special Counsel Robert Hur and the media over President Joe Biden, his handling of classified documents, and his mental capacity.
I take apart Hur’s declaration of Biden’s “poor memory” as an unwarranted political intervention, both diverting from the legal substance of the 388-page report — that there is insufficient evidence to file a criminal charge against Biden — and exaggerating and distorting the facts.
Then I look at most media outlets being led by the nose, by Hur and the attack lines of Donald Trump’s camp, to magnify the “white noise” at the expense of the issues and credible analysis.
The takeaway? Once again, in the most serious election for American since 1865, the US system — with consequences for the world — is under serious strain.
Listen to RTE Radio 1
I am furious as an analyst at the Special Counsel for a political intervention that was unnecessary.
The media has piled on in a feeding frenzy that supposes Biden is mentally incompetent. If you watch the press conference in full, he is forceful and direct. He puts the Special Counsel’s report in context and points to the achievements of his first term, which have been significant with respect to domestic legislation and the address of foreign policy crises.
We’re dealing with the white noise over “Sleepy Joe” rather than the facts.
To drive home the point:
Let me ask you about a man who took a cognitive fitness test while he was President, who tweeted the single word “Covfefe”, who invented an African country named “Nambia”. Who was that man?
It wasn’t Joe Biden.
Listen to BBC Radio 2 from 07:55
I encountered the “white noise” problem in this appearance alongside a combative host, Jeremy Vine, and Republican activist Greg Swenson.
Vine tries to cut off any discussion of the legal and political situation to repeat the attack lines about Biden’s incapacity. Swenson stirs the pot by throwing out speculations about “early dementia”.
These Are The Likely Democratic Presidential Candidates If Biden Drops Out: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/02/13/these-are-the-likely-democratic-presidential-candidates-if-biden-drops-out/
“Growing concerns over President Joe Biden’s age and ability to effectively serve a second term have fueled speculation he could, despite his campaign’s forceful denials, drop out of the 2024 presidential race—leaving these Democrats best poised to step into his shoes if he does.”
[Editor’s Note: A poll showing the pernicious effect of the Trumpist disinformation and conspiracy theories, continuing from Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election through his campaign in 2024….]
Third of U.S voters believe Biden’s win was not legitimate: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/a-third-of-voters-say-biden-s-2020-win-was-not-legitimate-poll-shows/ss-BB1ieCTH
[Editor’s Note: Click-bait from a British tabloid not known for either journalism or reliability….]
Michelle Obama being primed to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee: https://www.express.co.uk/news/us/1866110/michelle-obama-joe-biden-donald-trump-2024-election
[Editor’s Note: A good example, from a respected outlet, of the media getting led by the nose by years of Trumpist attacks line — rather than consider the facts of the report, or of Biden’s work as President, or of Trump’s own challenges, the outlets amplify unsupported speculation and magnify misinformation.]
Could the Democrats replace Joe Biden? https://www.ft.com/content/bfd4c9fe-3350-497f-99f9-59462ac055be
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“The assessment of Biden’s mental confusion — which triggered an angry response from him at a hastily arranged press conference on Thursday night — overshadowed the report’s conclusion, which was that the justice department would not issue criminal charges against the president.”
Biden confuses Mitterand with Macron, Sisi with Obrador. He calls “Hamas” the “opposition”. There is talk of Michelle Obama or Governor Newsom replacing him, Could Democrats replace Biden as their nominee? https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democrats-replace-biden-nominee-rcna138125