SMOKE AND MIRRORS
Joe Biden looks tired and exhausted — here are the tricks his team is using to obscure his blunders
Even serious accommodations that have been made for the 81-year-old — such as note cards at fundraisers, cheat sheets to keep his thoughts straight and crowds from his inner circle who surround him to distract attention from a stiff gait — fail to hide the deterioration that comes with age.
It became all too clear on Thursday night when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his Russian adversary Vladimir Putin and Vice President Kamala Harris as his own opponent, Donald Trump.
Some of those who observe him and have encountered him, even his supporters, can no longer overlook his gaffes and failures, which have included mis-reads on the teleprompter and one bizarre moment in which he nipped at Jill’s finger during a campaign event. More than ever before, according to Garrett Ziegler, a self-described researcher with Marco Polo and a former Donald Trump aid: “That empty stare and the open mouth are signs that Joey has lost a step or two or five or six. His synapses have got to be fried.”