By Michael Schwarz September 3, 2024 at 9:56am
The administration of President Joe Biden amounts to nothing more than farcical theater.
After all, no honest person believes that the bumbling octogenarian actually functions as president. But reporters question him, and the Secret Service protects him, as if he does. Meanwhile, we all maintain the farce by continuing to call him “the president.”
In a strange moment on Monday night outside the White House, Biden announced to a group of reporters that he was “not able to go out in the crowds anymore.”
The president made that comment after returning from Pennsylvania. There, he delivered a diabolically ironic Labor Day speech in support of Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
In a clip posted to the social media platform X, a female reporter asked Biden the kind of hard-hitting question Democrats always get from the establishment media.
“Mr. President, how was it to be back on the campaign trail today?” she asked.
“Feels good,” Biden turned and said.
Then, the president walked in the reporter’s direction and made his strange comment.
“Except I’m not able to go out in the crowds anymore. The Secret Service doesn’t let me,” he said with a creepy smile.
Do you think Joe Biden is actually running the country?
“No? Why not?” the reporter asked in the same tone one would use when dealing with an infant who had just lamented the boundaries set for him by adults.
“Well because, they said it’s too dangerous. No one gets to go out,” the president replied.
BIDEN: “I’m not able to go out in the crowds anymore. The Secret Service doesn’t let me.”
REPORTER: “Why not?”
BIDEN (who has a proclivity for tripping): “They say it’s too dangerous.” pic.twitter.com/JeKKE7r6wu
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 3, 2024
The most generous interpretation of Biden’s comment is that his cognitive decline has led him to forget that the Secret Service never allows presidents to wander into crowds.
But a less generous interpretation — and likely closer to the truth — suggests a kind of stolen valor on Biden’s part.
After all, when terrible things happen to other people, the narcissistic president often responds by turning the spotlight on himself. For instance, recall that on his August 2023 visit to wildfire-ravaged Maui, Biden told a story about a small kitchen fire in his Delaware home.
Thus, when speaking to reporters on Monday night, Biden probably had in mind the failed July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, who rose to his feet after the shooting stopped and gave the world an iconic image of bravery.
Biden, therefore, stole some valor by making it seem that he, too, faced danger.
As pathetic as that sounds, it certainly makes sense in light of his entire farcical presidency.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
