As you age, your reaction times tend to slow down. This is not an attack on older people, it’s simply a fact of life we will all have to deal with at some point. We’re not the leader of the free world, so it is important not to be slow to react. Instead, we need to be able to understand the world around us and be able to speak coherently.
Joe Biden is visiting Germany to attend the G-7 meeting — where Canada and France, Germany, Italy (and Japan) meet to discuss common concerns. The war in Ukraine is one of the topics on the agenda.
But during the meeting, video picked up an embarrassing moment that hit right on that topic I was talking about — that failure to react in time. Photographers are trying to get the attention of the leaders for a group shot. Everyone in the room realizes it quickly and turns toward the photographers. You can hear them shouting, yet, still, Joe doesn’t react. Finally, the German leader has to get his attention and tell Biden to turn around.
“Joe? Will you just turn a bit?” pic.twitter.com/k0vw3yRHMC
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 27, 2022
“Joe? Will you just turn around a little?” Olaf Scholz says. Joe finally gets around.
This isn’t a one-off problem. Boris Johnson, the president of South Africa, had just introduced him to the G-7. He also had an issue with this last year. Biden intervened to state that they had to recognize the “president” of South Africa, despite Johnson only doing so. Johnson shook Joe’s hand a few times and extended his arm a few times.
Boris Johnson insists to Joe Biden that he already introduced the president of South Africa to a G7 meeting.
Read the latest from the G7 here: https://t.co/LLt2KjJhOE pic.twitter.com/mjwKvbvDo6
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 13, 2021
Talk about embarrassing. This type of event has a problem. Biden’s staff is not involved in it. Joe’s people can’t manage Joe in such an environment, and the problems can become even more severe. We witnessed how they had to hand him notecards to explain to him when he must sit and when he can thank people. It was almost as if he needed to be held in his hands at every step.
This failure to respond quickly and correctly doesn’t happen only in these situations. We’ve seen it all the time when it comes to Biden’s reactions to a variety of policy issues, from the failure of the withdrawal from Afghanistan to the failure of his long-term recognition of inflation or his role in it.
This is why his polling numbers are low and why so many Americans aren’t optimistic.
He is now at 39.1 percent approval and 56.4 disapproval according to the Real Clear Politics average.
Biden’s net approval rating – the gap between approve and disapprove – is at a new record low. pic.twitter.com/Gykvfiy7CH
— Tommy Pigott (@TommyPigott) June 26, 2022
This is a decrease from two-week ago when he was 39% approved and 55% disapproved.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such large numbers in my entire life. With today’s divisions, 60 percent of Americans think something is normal. However, if 81 percent of Americans believe things are bad, that’s huge.
Just 19% of Americans say things are going well 😬 pic.twitter.com/dQ3pVccaAR
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) June 26, 2022
This stake is as big as any hope Democrats have for the midterms.