Congress members Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, James Comer and others continue to insist that President Joe Biden is the head of a criminal enterprise — the so-called “Biden crime family” — which is allegedly being protected by various “weaponized” law enforcement agencies, mostly staffed by Republicans.
It is an evergreen accusation since, as it plays out, the less evidence the accusers are able to produce, the more they point to that same lack of evidence as proof of a coverup.
These allegations of a Biden-biased DOJ and FBI, together with the indictment of former President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith, have produced a GOP-driven narrative of a “two-tiered justice system” — one draconian tier for Republicans and one less punitive version for Democrats.
FBI Director Christopher Wray is in the hot seat this week on Capitol Hill, as Republicans call for him to be fired over malfeasance. Wray, a lifelong Republican appointed by Trump, called accusations that he had some kind of bias against Republicans bizarre, given his history.
But another criticism of Biden, more widely subscribed to than the MAGA charge of corruption, is that the President is no longer operating at his top capacity, due to his age. The concern, shared by Republicans and Democrats alike, is that the 80-year-old Commander-in-Chief has suffered some degree of “cognitive decline.”
Biden’s unusual utterances and occasional physical stumbles have lent fuel to this conflagratory story, so much so that when another politician has a moment of cognitive stumbling, it brings Biden to mind. Below, Biden accuser Jim Jordan has one such brain freeze moment on TV, where he has trouble remembering what he wants to say or who he is talking about.
if Joe Biden did this during a live interview Fox would spent nights yelling about how he's in cognitive decline pic.twitter.com/BVfYxgCpoP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 13, 2023
Jordan tells Fox host Sean Hannity he “drew a blank” there, apologizes, and complains about an echo in his ear. (Snarky detractors in the comments joke that this is likely the result of Jordan’s own “echo chamber.”)
Jordan’s verbal gaffe is not unusual — politicians talk a lot, saying much of the same thing repeatedly. Garbling words on occasion is a natural pitfall of the job. But the fact that Biden’s instances of unsharp performances like this are common enough that when Jordan does it people are reminded of Biden remains a concern for the President’s re-election campaign.
The caption above illustrates this challenge: “If Joe Biden did [what Jordan does] during a live interview Fox would spent nights yelling about how he’s in cognitive decline,” writes Aaron Rupar. And, as Rupar knows, many will see it that way even if it also happens to other politicians.
The WH advance staff really needs to do a better job ensuring Biden never has to say words pic.twitter.com/LzsE0vlsPQ
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 12, 2023
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