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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
President Joe Biden’s age continues to be a problem for him because it’s an issue for a growing number of voters, and a video that went viral online on Thursday isn’t going to help him.
Biden was visiting an automotive plant in Belvidere, Ill., operated by Stellantis, a European consortium that owns the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Truck brands after the United Autoworkers Union came to an agreement with the automaker to end their strike.
“Something you don’t know: My state of Delaware — a little state — because we’ve got a small population, had the highest percentage of UAW workers in the United States of America. We had the largest GM plant. We had the largest Chrysler plant outside of Detroit. And we had a lot of shipping as well,” Biden told the crowd, according to videos posted online.
“But here’s the deal, I got raised on automobiles. My dad ran an auto — he didn’t own it; he ran an automobile agency for a long time,” he added.
But it was a moment before Biden began his speech that was more noteworthy, per The Western Journal:
Biden came out on stage, a union representative presented him with a shirt meant to express solidarity with the workers in Belivedere (and everywhere, one presumes). Of course he had to wear it on the spot; not to do so would be a political faux pas of epic proportions. However, the faux pas may have been union management exposing just how fragile their horse in the 2024 presidential race really is.
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He has to be helped when putting on a T-shirt, which is so seldom a good look — as the Republican National Committee’s RNC Research social media account noted.
Biden requires some assistance as he struggles to put on a t-shirt he was given before his speech pic.twitter.com/rOs8PwwIcg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 9, 2023
X platform users had a lot to say about the incident.
“Jill wasn’t there to dress him? Big mistake WH staffers. But you’re all busy with your protests on company time so we understand,” said one.
“Dressing grandpa up on stage, while on camera (sigh),” another wrote.
“This is what dressing your patient in elder care looks like,” said another.
“Democrats: ‘that’s our guy,’” another remarked.
“Who helps him with his Depends?” asked another user.
Biden’s age — he’s 80 — has increasingly become a concern among members of his party as well as voters.
Just last week, a longtime Democratic strategist and operative who helped Barack Obama win two terms is all but beggingBiden to drop out of the 2024 race.
David Axelrod made his plea following the release of a New York Times/Siena College poll of registered voters that spelled excessively bad news for Biden. The poll found Biden trailing former President Donald Trump in five of six critical swing states a year out from the election and having only a 2-point lead over Trump in a sixth battleground state.
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“Only Joe Biden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party,” Axelrod noted on the X platform. “What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?”
“It’s very late to change horses; a lot will happen in the next year that no one can predict & Biden’s team says his resolve to run is firm. He’s defied CW before but this will send tremors of doubt thru the party–not ‘bed-wetting,’ but legitimate concern,” Axelrod added, citing “conventional wisdom” in another post with a graphic of the polling data.
It’s very late to change horses; a lot will happen in the next year that no one can predict & Biden’s team says his resolve to run is firm.
He’s defied CW before but this will send tremors of doubt thru the party–not “bed-wetting,” but legitimate concern. https://t.co/g6zeWF0T87— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 5, 2023
