OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden made headlines again this week for all of the wrong reasons.
During a speech in Las Vegas, Nevada, the president spoke to a small crowd about his plan to lower housing costs for American families. But things took a turn when he began rambling and telling an incoherent story about how he was once the “poorest man in Congress.”
“I had the [inaudible] things to be listed as the poorest man in Congress for 36 years. I got a phone call, my wife was campaigning. I was campaigning up in New Hampshire back when that statistic came out in the nineties. And she called — I used to call them because the kids were little when I was away, and say, how’s everything going? I got this, fine. You know you’re in trouble when your wife or husband says ‘fine.’ I said, ‘what’s the matter?’ She said, ‘only elected officials’ husband and wife understand this,'” Biden began.
“She said ‘Did you read today’s paper?’ I said, ‘they don’t have today’s paper, Wilmington paper, Delaware, up in — up in — with Lahey, I’m with Lahey from Vermont.’ And she said ‘well, let me read it. Top of the fold, headline: Biden, poorest man in Congress. Is that true?’ I don’t know if it’s true, but it turned out it was true,” he added.
WATCH:
A new report, if accurate, will likely cause further concern among voters already worried that President Joe Biden’s mental status is compromised.
According to NBC News, Biden got angry and lashed out at his closest advisers and aides during a closed-door meeting in January after they told him he was losing to Trump in the battleground states of Georgia and Michigan. The outlet reported that its journalists spoke to several people who said they were in the room at the time.
“The report painted a picture of a re-election campaign that was — and is — in disarray less than a year before Nov. 5, when Biden will most likely face off against Trump — again — in a general election,” the Western Journal reported, citing NBC News.
The NBC report said that Biden has been at odds for months with his advisers about how best to convince voters to give him a second term amid record-low approval ratings, a migrant invasion he caused, stubborn inflation, rising food and gas prices, and sky-high lending rates.
However, Hamas’ attacks against Israel on Oct. 7 and the Jewish state’s subsequent declaration of war against the terrorist organization have complicated the situation for Biden, who initially backed Israel, while many on the far left have taken Hamas’ side.
NBC News reported that during discussions between him and his aides regarding Biden’s diminishing support from pro-Palestinian Democrats two months ago, he lashed out.
“In a private meeting at the White House in January, allies of the president had just told him that his poll numbers in Michigan and Georgia had dropped over his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas,” NBC News reported.
“Both are battleground states he narrowly won four years ago, and he can’t afford any backsliding if he is to once again defeat Donald Trump. He began to shout and swear, a lawmaker familiar with the meeting said,” the report added.
At the heart of Biden’s frustration, according to individuals present at the meeting, was his belief that he had fulfilled his duties effectively but was not receiving the recognition he believed he deserved, particularly regarding the economy.
Biden has also reportedly clashed with his advisers over the messaging strategy for his campaign.
According to the report, the president has “on occasion directed his ire at his tightknit senior staff” because his messaging on job growth during his term hasn’t resonated with voters.
Moreover, given Biden’s advanced age and concerns about his fitness to lead the country, his inner circle has “told him he should walk faster out of concern that his gait feeds impressions that he’s too old.”
That said, his closest advisers worry that by walking faster, he could be more prone to tripping.
Biden has experienced several falls during the initial three years of his presidency. As a precaution, he now utilizes a shortened staircase to board the presidential jet through its belly, departing from the traditional long staircase commonly used by presidents during travel.
The NBC News report also said that while Biden’s advisers believe he can defeat his most likely challenger, former President Donald Trump, in a rematch, they also worry about his slumping approval rating, which is now hovering in the high 30s.
For instance, a recent Gallup survey found Biden’s approval rating was a dismal 38 percent—lower than that of the previous three presidents who failed to secure a second term.
Trump, with 48 percent, George H.W. Bush, with 43 percent, and Jimmy Carter, with 53 percent, were all polling higher during their fourth year in the White House than Biden before they failed to secure a second term.
According to several surveys, Trump has been out-polling Biden in several other swing states since the beginning of the year.
